The spooky story continues…
So, I woke up at 6:00am because of how early I had fallen asleep. Pete had climbed into bed with us, and Steve was waking up, too. I put on my shorts and went to check on Andy in the other room (well, look at his door…he was locked in). I decided to step out onto the balcony in the front of the hotel to see what the weather felt like. There were two guys sleeping on chaise lounges out there!
I came back inside and locked the door. I checked on the desk downstairs, and still no one. So, I went back into my room and wrote my blog for the day before. When I went to get Andy up, I asked him how he slept. He said that he slept okay, but the party upstairs woke him up. I asked him “What party?” He said there was a lot of laughter, clinking of glasses and he thought he heard music or a TV. I was hoping I was going to get the chance to ask someone about the balcony sleepers and the party Andy heard.
Once everyone was showered and part-way packed, we headed downstairs. There was a woman there vacuuming. She had brought breakfast items for us. As we were sitting there eating, the phone rang and I heard her end of the conversation. Apparently someone from the wedding party thought they had left something behind and he/she was hoping they had found it. As she talked to the person we all heard her say “Yeah, I know. We are listed in a few Haunted Guide Books.” That is NOT what I wanted to hear!
Once she was off the phone, I mentioned to her about the two sleeping guys on the balcony. Apparently, there had been someone else in the hotel in room 208, and they had gotten spooked and ended up sleeping outside! She also said that no one was up on the third floor, that they very rarely have anyone sleep up there. It was very very VERY creepy. She also told us about her conversation with the guy on the phone. Apparently he had been shoved through a door during the reception when no one was behind him (AND, she made it a point to say, he WASN’T DRINKIN’!) Again, this was NOT what I wanted to HEAR!!
Anyway, we left as quickly as we could and didn’t look back. After getting ice and LOTS of water, we headed out of Kingman and towards the Mojave Desert. We watched the temperature in Needles climb to 103 and it was only 10:30 in the morning! We drove a lot of Route 66 through the desert. I think it was a more interesting way to go than via the ‘super slab.’ We stopped at one point outside of Amboy to write “Bumba” with rocks alongside miles and miles of names and words other people have written with rocks. It was fun! (as long as you avoided the snakes)
Amboy was cool because of Roy’s Café. This is an INSITUTION along Route 66 and has been closed since 2003 because the original owner passed away. It was just featured in the June edition of Route 66 Pulse that it is going to be opening again soon. We stopped for a potty break and to go inside. The guy inside, Larry, was great. We bought a few T-shirts and visited with him. It will be opening as soon as they can get it all fixed up. It looks wonderful inside; and what a great place to stop in the middle of the desert!
Anyway, moving on, we headed through many a “used to be” town…many towns don’t even have any buildings anymore. I can’t IMAGINE having a business in the middle of the desert! We stopped in Ludlow at the Ludlow Café and had a pretty good lunch, and then did a little on again/off again of Route 66.
Mostly our day consisted of taking quick photos from the car and moving on. It was HOT so who wanted to get out?! (I think it got to about 110 for the high…which Larry said was great! It HAD been 127!...lucky us?) We saw a covered wagon which was possibly used on the TV show Death Valley Days, an old Solar Power plant, the Baghdad Café (from the cult movie? Never seen it), two dormant volcanoes, a Bottle Tree Ranch and Roy Roger’s Ranch.
Once we made it through Barstow, we had to get back onto the highway to make it through Cajon Pass. Route 66 used to be here, but they put the Highway right on top of it (mostly). Once we got on the highway at Cajon Pass, we didn’t get off again until Pasadena (“Uh, Steve, don’t we want to get off now and see the original McDonalds or the Giant Route 66 Coffee Cup?” “No! We’re making good TIME!”). I had to tell the kids that San Bernardino was ‘over there’ so that they would know we had made it to the end of the song: “You go through St. Louis, Joplin, Missouri, Oklahoma City is oh so pretty, you’ll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona, Kingman (yuck), Barstow, San Bernardino”!
So, even though we are at the end of the song, we aren’t quite to the end of the Route. Tomorrow we get to the Santa Monica Pier and we can say ‘WE DID IT!!’
Meanwhile, we checked into our hotel, which ended up being the huge Family Suite with THREE beds, AND a NICE WARM POOL (and not very expensive, I must say)! AND NO FREAKY GHOSTS!! Hurrah! After the long, hot, sticky desert, we WELCOMED the pool. After swimming, we showered and dressed, and headed out to Old Pasadena (recommended by our friend Ben Hardy who lives in Hollywood…we’ll see him tomorrow) We had an excellent dinner at a place called Yard House (Good Beer, Good Rock). After dinner, we retired to the hotel so that we can be rested for tomorrow. I am so glad we don’t have to pack up in the morning. We get this most excellent room again for another day…yay!
Tomorrow…we MAKE IT ALL THE WAY!!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Day #10
This was a particularly special day in that we started our day along the longest and most beautiful untouched stretch of Route 66. We started our day with all of us getting up pretty early EXCEPT for Pete! (I was so grateful he slept in a bit). As we were beginning to pack, a mussed-haired little boy sat up, looked outside, looked at us and said “The sun is on!” Is he always going to be this cute?? Anyway, we all went outside to start our day with a small continental breakfast in the little gazebo in the middle of the motel. It is an outside gazebo, and the morning was gorgeous. After packing up, having breakfast, getting ice and gas, we were off.
We initially had to get on I-40, but not for long. At the Crookton Road exit, we began our long journey down Route 66. If you have ever done any research on 66, you would know of a man named Angel Delgadillo. He is credited with being the person who saved 66 from complete demise. You can see him in the Pixar extra “The inspiration behind Cars” as well as any number of DVDs. When someone wants to research 66 or make a movie, they go to Angel. (Pixar credited him as “The Angel of Route 66”). Anyway, our first stop was in his hometown of Seligman at his gift shop/barber shop. He and his father, by trade, were barbers. He still has his chair and cuts only occasionally. He is 83 and mostly retired. Well, we weren’t in the gift shop portion for more than a few minutes when he walked in! We visited with him for a few minutes, shopped for a few minutes, and then he asked if we had seen his chair. We went into his little barber shop and as we were talking about shaving in the old days, I said “Come on Steve, get a shave!” Angel was happy to oblige.
Steve had the nicest shave EVER. The kids were fascinated seeing someone get shaved in a barber’s chair like that (even Pete wondered what that man was doing to Dad!) He told us every stop of the way what he was doing. And, fortunately, the God’s of Video Tape were with us today…Andy got the whole thing on tape!! It was SO much fun. Angel is VERY funny. When Steve went to pay he asked Angel if he should pay out in the gift shop or pay Angel directly. Angel whispered “If you pay them, they’ll go get drunk.” And then he looked at me and whispered “If you pay me, then I’LL go get drunk!” He was truly a wonderful man and I just LOVED spending time with him.
Right about the time the shave was over, two big tour busses were coming in and the little gift shop was getting crowded, so we headed on our way. I was so grateful we got there when we did. Steve said he had seen a tour bus leaving as we pulled up, so we really did have nice ‘one on one’ time with him.
When we were done making several purchases in his gift shop, we walked next door to his brother’s store. His brother, Juan, died in 2004, but the family is keeping the Snow Cap Drive-In going. Juan had a great sense of humor too, as can be seen in his store. He was famous for selling “Dead Chicken”, “Hamburgers without the Ham”, etc. It was quite a store. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we could only walk around outside and look in. (it is quite small inside, most of the seating was outside). We saw signs on the window which said things like “Helen Waite is our credit manager. If you want credit, go to Helen Waite.” The two ‘out houses’, I am told, have TVs in them. On the front of them it says “me casa es tu casa” among other things. You’ll have to see the photos. This place was a riot!
Anyway, back in the car, we headed out of Seligman. The route curves way away from I-40 for awhile. We saw an old boarded up Indian School in Valentine, AZ as well as the western edge of the Grand Canyon in the distance near Peach Springs. We stopped at the Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, AZ. This place was credited in the Cars movie, and it looks like Lizzie’s Curio Shop. I wanted to buy a bumper sticker there (because Lizzie was so good and putting bumper stickers on everyone’s cars in the movie), but they didn’t sell any!! So, we got everyone drinks instead. It was a cute place. We also donated to the preservation of the beautiful Corvette out front.
We hit Kingman around noon, and decided to go ahead and check into our hotel now before heading on. (we are doubling back to Kingman for the night because I don’t want to stay in Needles!) The hotel is very old, right in downtown Kingman (which is a decent sized town, but it’s downtown is very sleepy). I went in and the couple who is refurbishing the place were there. She said it was great that we were checking in now, because they didn’t want to have to man the desk tonight and we were the only ones checking in. I thought that was strange, but ok. They gave us two keys. Andy gets his own room tonight! They have these “cowboy rooms” which are basically a bed in a room, no bathroom. He threw it on for an extra $1 so that Andy could have his own bed. Andy was ecstatic. She also told me that they had hosted a wedding over the weekend, so it may be a bit messy.
So, I checked in, got my two keys, and we were off for Oatman. Oatman is this small mountain town up in the Black Mountains of Arizona. They call it “The ghost town that wouldn’t die.” It is quite interesting taking 66 up there. My book tells of people who would pay others in Kingman to drive their car over the mountains for them back in the 30s and 40s because it was so hairy on the road. We didn’t feel it was THAT bad, but there were a lot of hairpin turns, and you do have to take it slow.
Once we got there, we realized how HOT Oatman was (100+). Now Kingman had been hot (92), but we were going UP in the mountains, and I just figured it wouldn’t be so bad! But I guess it is in a valley up in the mountains, and so it gets pretty hot there. This place does look like something out of the old west. We walked around and saw that there were a ton of shops you could go into and buy stuff. We really felt ‘bought out’ after all of our other curio stops. To make matters worse, I had started notfeeling quite right, and so going into one of their restaurants didn’t sound too good, either. We went into the museum and looked at all of their old stuff, and then started to head back down the street (Route 66 is basically the only street that runs through town). We did stop for ice cream because everyone was getting SO hot.
Oatman has staged gunfights every few hours, and they were starting another one. They kicked it off by firing off a shotgun. Well, you can imagine how well that went over with Pete! He just wanted to “GET INSIDE, PLEASE!!!” So, Emily and Steve took him into a shop while Andy and I watched the show. It was cute. Andy got some nice video.
The other thing Oatman is known for are the wild burros that come into town. They are descendants of the burros who used to help the miners in the area. Every shop in town sells carrots that you can feed them. We hadn’t seen any burros until we were about to leave (figures) and by that time, everyone was so hot that no one cared! I said “Does anyone want Dad to stop the car and we’ll buy some carrots and feed the Burros?” And there was a resounding “NO” from the back. Okay, then.
We took 66 all the rest of the way to the border of California through barren hills which Dad says are a taste of what is to come tomorrow in the dessert. Great. 66 doesn’t actually cross the Colorado at the line, so you have to get on I-40, which we did. We went through a state inspection site where they stopped our car and asked where we had come from. We looked about as mid-west as we could look, and Steve said “Chicago” while I said “Arizona”. Duh, Jen. He said to have a nice day, and we moved on. Of course, the kids wanted to know what they wanted with us. We told them they were looking for adorable children to sell, and so they should cover up Pete (who was sound asleep) so that they didn’t take him! We are awful, sometimes.
Anyway, we were in California only briefly before heading back across and up to Bullhead City (the original Las Vegas). Oh, and by the way, Steve had been watching the temperature outside. We thought Oatman was bad! We were now in Needles and watching the numbers climb…103…105…110…111! We started to think about the propane stored on the rooftop carrier. We were hoping that the nice hot breeze going over the carrier was helping a bit (ha!). We are planning on putting the propane tanks in our car tomorrow for our trip across the desert, but didn’t realize we might have had to do it today! No worries, the cartop carrier never exploded.
After we got through Bullhead City, we headed back through the mountains towards Kingman on a bigger, much straighter highway than 66 had been! We got to the hotel by about 5 and went in. We were the only ones there. I’ve got to say, it really creeped me out. I still wasn’t feeling all that great, and this place, being the only ones (not even anyone at the front desk) was REALLY creepy. I didn’t say anything to the kids because I didn’t want them weirded-out, and they seemed fine. We brought out stuff up to our room and then headed back out for dinner.
We went to an old 50’s place called “Mr D’z.” It was awful (what did I expect?) and the airbrushed photos of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe right by our table looked REALLY SPOOKY. This artist was not good, and these pictures looked almost skeletal. Perhaps it was because I was already weirded out, but I really started feeling icky inside. I went to the car and closed my eyes.
When we got back to the hotel, I went straight to bed. I told Steve this morning that I was creeped out, but feeling so icky that I couldn’t even think about it. He wondered if I just shut down BECAUSE I was feeling so creepy. Could be. He mentioned that once he got everyone to sleep, he felt a bit creepy, too. I guess when you are the only ones in a big old hotel, it can get a bit weird. I kept thinking about how nice it would have been to be here during the weekend with the wedding party here. It probably would have felt a LOT different.
And don’t get me wrong; the rooms were very lovely. We had a suite with a bedroom, a large ¾ bathroom and then a living room where Emily slept. Everything was clean and updated, so it wasn’t like it was all run-down or anything. Just weird feeling all alone in a big old hotel. Oh, and I forgot to mention the trains. The Santa Fe Railroad is right outside the front of the building, and they run ALL NIGHT LONG. So they give complimentary ear plugs to all of their guests. How nice. I’m guessing the plugs shut out the sounds of the ghosts, too. (cue Twilight Zone music…)
Ah well, we survived. And now…CALIFORNIA OR BUST!
We initially had to get on I-40, but not for long. At the Crookton Road exit, we began our long journey down Route 66. If you have ever done any research on 66, you would know of a man named Angel Delgadillo. He is credited with being the person who saved 66 from complete demise. You can see him in the Pixar extra “The inspiration behind Cars” as well as any number of DVDs. When someone wants to research 66 or make a movie, they go to Angel. (Pixar credited him as “The Angel of Route 66”). Anyway, our first stop was in his hometown of Seligman at his gift shop/barber shop. He and his father, by trade, were barbers. He still has his chair and cuts only occasionally. He is 83 and mostly retired. Well, we weren’t in the gift shop portion for more than a few minutes when he walked in! We visited with him for a few minutes, shopped for a few minutes, and then he asked if we had seen his chair. We went into his little barber shop and as we were talking about shaving in the old days, I said “Come on Steve, get a shave!” Angel was happy to oblige.
Steve had the nicest shave EVER. The kids were fascinated seeing someone get shaved in a barber’s chair like that (even Pete wondered what that man was doing to Dad!) He told us every stop of the way what he was doing. And, fortunately, the God’s of Video Tape were with us today…Andy got the whole thing on tape!! It was SO much fun. Angel is VERY funny. When Steve went to pay he asked Angel if he should pay out in the gift shop or pay Angel directly. Angel whispered “If you pay them, they’ll go get drunk.” And then he looked at me and whispered “If you pay me, then I’LL go get drunk!” He was truly a wonderful man and I just LOVED spending time with him.
Right about the time the shave was over, two big tour busses were coming in and the little gift shop was getting crowded, so we headed on our way. I was so grateful we got there when we did. Steve said he had seen a tour bus leaving as we pulled up, so we really did have nice ‘one on one’ time with him.
When we were done making several purchases in his gift shop, we walked next door to his brother’s store. His brother, Juan, died in 2004, but the family is keeping the Snow Cap Drive-In going. Juan had a great sense of humor too, as can be seen in his store. He was famous for selling “Dead Chicken”, “Hamburgers without the Ham”, etc. It was quite a store. Unfortunately, it was closed, so we could only walk around outside and look in. (it is quite small inside, most of the seating was outside). We saw signs on the window which said things like “Helen Waite is our credit manager. If you want credit, go to Helen Waite.” The two ‘out houses’, I am told, have TVs in them. On the front of them it says “me casa es tu casa” among other things. You’ll have to see the photos. This place was a riot!
Anyway, back in the car, we headed out of Seligman. The route curves way away from I-40 for awhile. We saw an old boarded up Indian School in Valentine, AZ as well as the western edge of the Grand Canyon in the distance near Peach Springs. We stopped at the Hackberry General Store in Hackberry, AZ. This place was credited in the Cars movie, and it looks like Lizzie’s Curio Shop. I wanted to buy a bumper sticker there (because Lizzie was so good and putting bumper stickers on everyone’s cars in the movie), but they didn’t sell any!! So, we got everyone drinks instead. It was a cute place. We also donated to the preservation of the beautiful Corvette out front.
We hit Kingman around noon, and decided to go ahead and check into our hotel now before heading on. (we are doubling back to Kingman for the night because I don’t want to stay in Needles!) The hotel is very old, right in downtown Kingman (which is a decent sized town, but it’s downtown is very sleepy). I went in and the couple who is refurbishing the place were there. She said it was great that we were checking in now, because they didn’t want to have to man the desk tonight and we were the only ones checking in. I thought that was strange, but ok. They gave us two keys. Andy gets his own room tonight! They have these “cowboy rooms” which are basically a bed in a room, no bathroom. He threw it on for an extra $1 so that Andy could have his own bed. Andy was ecstatic. She also told me that they had hosted a wedding over the weekend, so it may be a bit messy.
So, I checked in, got my two keys, and we were off for Oatman. Oatman is this small mountain town up in the Black Mountains of Arizona. They call it “The ghost town that wouldn’t die.” It is quite interesting taking 66 up there. My book tells of people who would pay others in Kingman to drive their car over the mountains for them back in the 30s and 40s because it was so hairy on the road. We didn’t feel it was THAT bad, but there were a lot of hairpin turns, and you do have to take it slow.
Once we got there, we realized how HOT Oatman was (100+). Now Kingman had been hot (92), but we were going UP in the mountains, and I just figured it wouldn’t be so bad! But I guess it is in a valley up in the mountains, and so it gets pretty hot there. This place does look like something out of the old west. We walked around and saw that there were a ton of shops you could go into and buy stuff. We really felt ‘bought out’ after all of our other curio stops. To make matters worse, I had started notfeeling quite right, and so going into one of their restaurants didn’t sound too good, either. We went into the museum and looked at all of their old stuff, and then started to head back down the street (Route 66 is basically the only street that runs through town). We did stop for ice cream because everyone was getting SO hot.
Oatman has staged gunfights every few hours, and they were starting another one. They kicked it off by firing off a shotgun. Well, you can imagine how well that went over with Pete! He just wanted to “GET INSIDE, PLEASE!!!” So, Emily and Steve took him into a shop while Andy and I watched the show. It was cute. Andy got some nice video.
The other thing Oatman is known for are the wild burros that come into town. They are descendants of the burros who used to help the miners in the area. Every shop in town sells carrots that you can feed them. We hadn’t seen any burros until we were about to leave (figures) and by that time, everyone was so hot that no one cared! I said “Does anyone want Dad to stop the car and we’ll buy some carrots and feed the Burros?” And there was a resounding “NO” from the back. Okay, then.
We took 66 all the rest of the way to the border of California through barren hills which Dad says are a taste of what is to come tomorrow in the dessert. Great. 66 doesn’t actually cross the Colorado at the line, so you have to get on I-40, which we did. We went through a state inspection site where they stopped our car and asked where we had come from. We looked about as mid-west as we could look, and Steve said “Chicago” while I said “Arizona”. Duh, Jen. He said to have a nice day, and we moved on. Of course, the kids wanted to know what they wanted with us. We told them they were looking for adorable children to sell, and so they should cover up Pete (who was sound asleep) so that they didn’t take him! We are awful, sometimes.
Anyway, we were in California only briefly before heading back across and up to Bullhead City (the original Las Vegas). Oh, and by the way, Steve had been watching the temperature outside. We thought Oatman was bad! We were now in Needles and watching the numbers climb…103…105…110…111! We started to think about the propane stored on the rooftop carrier. We were hoping that the nice hot breeze going over the carrier was helping a bit (ha!). We are planning on putting the propane tanks in our car tomorrow for our trip across the desert, but didn’t realize we might have had to do it today! No worries, the cartop carrier never exploded.
After we got through Bullhead City, we headed back through the mountains towards Kingman on a bigger, much straighter highway than 66 had been! We got to the hotel by about 5 and went in. We were the only ones there. I’ve got to say, it really creeped me out. I still wasn’t feeling all that great, and this place, being the only ones (not even anyone at the front desk) was REALLY creepy. I didn’t say anything to the kids because I didn’t want them weirded-out, and they seemed fine. We brought out stuff up to our room and then headed back out for dinner.
We went to an old 50’s place called “Mr D’z.” It was awful (what did I expect?) and the airbrushed photos of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe right by our table looked REALLY SPOOKY. This artist was not good, and these pictures looked almost skeletal. Perhaps it was because I was already weirded out, but I really started feeling icky inside. I went to the car and closed my eyes.
When we got back to the hotel, I went straight to bed. I told Steve this morning that I was creeped out, but feeling so icky that I couldn’t even think about it. He wondered if I just shut down BECAUSE I was feeling so creepy. Could be. He mentioned that once he got everyone to sleep, he felt a bit creepy, too. I guess when you are the only ones in a big old hotel, it can get a bit weird. I kept thinking about how nice it would have been to be here during the weekend with the wedding party here. It probably would have felt a LOT different.
And don’t get me wrong; the rooms were very lovely. We had a suite with a bedroom, a large ¾ bathroom and then a living room where Emily slept. Everything was clean and updated, so it wasn’t like it was all run-down or anything. Just weird feeling all alone in a big old hotel. Oh, and I forgot to mention the trains. The Santa Fe Railroad is right outside the front of the building, and they run ALL NIGHT LONG. So they give complimentary ear plugs to all of their guests. How nice. I’m guessing the plugs shut out the sounds of the ghosts, too. (cue Twilight Zone music…)
Ah well, we survived. And now…CALIFORNIA OR BUST!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Day #9
Half-way point! Steve and I woke up with the birds CAWING overhead, and nothing but blue sky as far as the eye could see (which wasn’t far…we are in a forest!)
The two of us left the tent and got hot water brewing for some coffee. All of a sudden, I heard a giggle from inside the tent. We had put Peter in his Tigger sweats because I was concerned about the cold in the night (it never did seem that bad), and now we were seeing Tigger emerge from the tent!
Soon we had the other two up and we were going about the business of breaking camp. Once ‘broke’, we headed over to the main Village area (Done by 9:30 this time…we’re getting better!) There are so many people at the Grand Canyon these days, that they don’t allow people to drive the rim all the way along. They now have Natural Gas busses which you can take for free all along the rim. It has really cut down on the traffic. After a quick stop at the market again to repair the car-top carrier (My Man doesn’t know his own strength!) we hopped a bus for the west side of the rim. We decided to get off and walk part way because the busses were so crowded.
We walked the rim for a bit and were surprised to see what little distance we had gone (it felt like we were almost in Nevada!) It was getting hot, and Pete wanted to be carried (which is probably why it felt like we had gone so far yet done so little), and so we decided to just get to the next bus stop which would take us back towards the village. Andy, on the other hand, when he saw the Bright Angel trail which takes you down into the heart of the canyon said “Cool! Let’s do THAT!” I said that was fine as long as he was willing to carry Pete. Oh, and I reminded him that all the signs say that the canyon is 20-30 degrees warmer than the rim. The plan was quickly squashed.
Emily and Pete had to use the facilities, and they did have them at that next bus stop, so we went there first. I only include this tid-bit because when we got to the facilities, there was a woman who had walked into one of the two “rooms”, screamed and came running back out! We could tell she was from Brazil, because she sounded just like an excited Carla or Marla.
Turns out, there was a bat down in the toilet. Now everyone else was looking in there and going “Ew” and walking out. Emily, of course, had to be the next person to look, and she was immediately concerned. The bat did not look good. Would you?
Well, just about that time, a man came to clean out the bathrooms, and we all thought someone had called a ranger or something, but it turned out he was just there to do his job. When we told him about the bat, he called a naturalist to come and ‘rescue’ the bat. We then HAD to wait around to make sure the bat was okay. Pete sat on the edge of the wall and ate veggie puffs and drank water, so he was fine. The naturalist showed up and picked up the bat and then proceeded to clean him off with clean water (I swear this is what Emily will do some day) We all got to touch the bat and get a really close look. She said he was a Pallid Bat and that he was a male (she even showed us how she could tell…don’t make me explain it) She tried to wash the chemicals off of him, and then she said she was going to let him dry for a few hours, and then set him free.
It actually turned out to be quite an adventure. The Grand Canyon was cool, but we got to touch a BAT!
We headed back and had a nice lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge, and then the kids said that they were done! So, we walked back to the car (bad idea…there had been a bus we could have taken…”Come on” I said…”It’s not that far,” I said…bad bad idea)
Anyway, there was the blessed car once we finally made it back to the parking lot, and we immediately jumped in, and Pete immediately fell asleep. It was almost in record time. The drive to Williams, AZ is nice and quick. There is a Grand Canyon train that takes people from Williams up to the Canyon for the day or more, and so this town is quite alive. We checked into “The Lodge on 66”. What a nice place! They have taken this old motor court and turned two rooms into one, so there is a sitting room with a kitchenette, and two BIG FLUFFY BEDS and a nice bathroom with a large tub (yay for Pete!)
Everyone took a shower, and then I took the laundry (we were at critical mass) across the street and got it all done in about an hour. I met the nicest people there. One couple lives on a ranch just north of here and they make their own electricity, and they have an outdoor tub and outhouse. They have horses and llamas (I learned why there are so many llamas around here…they make great ‘watchdogs’ to keep coyotes, etc. at bay, they don’t eat even half as much as a dog, and they don’t bark. When they are content, they HUM!)
Anyway, I greatly enjoyed my laundering experience. Once back at the room, we dressed and went to a very nice restaurant for dinner (reminded us of the Red Arrow Roadhouse). After dinner, we went to ANOTHER restaurant for their great pie. We rolled back to the motel like Weebles, but not before stopping at “Pete’s Route 66 Gas Station and Museum.” It was so cute and quite appropriate to our trip.
So, now everyone is snoring and I need to go to bed. Tomorrow we do the longest untouched stretch of 66 in western Arizona (when they show the Route 66 map during the Cars movie, this is the stretch they show). I am very excited! But I am also sad to leave this motel. I think this is the nicest one yet!
The two of us left the tent and got hot water brewing for some coffee. All of a sudden, I heard a giggle from inside the tent. We had put Peter in his Tigger sweats because I was concerned about the cold in the night (it never did seem that bad), and now we were seeing Tigger emerge from the tent!
Soon we had the other two up and we were going about the business of breaking camp. Once ‘broke’, we headed over to the main Village area (Done by 9:30 this time…we’re getting better!) There are so many people at the Grand Canyon these days, that they don’t allow people to drive the rim all the way along. They now have Natural Gas busses which you can take for free all along the rim. It has really cut down on the traffic. After a quick stop at the market again to repair the car-top carrier (My Man doesn’t know his own strength!) we hopped a bus for the west side of the rim. We decided to get off and walk part way because the busses were so crowded.
We walked the rim for a bit and were surprised to see what little distance we had gone (it felt like we were almost in Nevada!) It was getting hot, and Pete wanted to be carried (which is probably why it felt like we had gone so far yet done so little), and so we decided to just get to the next bus stop which would take us back towards the village. Andy, on the other hand, when he saw the Bright Angel trail which takes you down into the heart of the canyon said “Cool! Let’s do THAT!” I said that was fine as long as he was willing to carry Pete. Oh, and I reminded him that all the signs say that the canyon is 20-30 degrees warmer than the rim. The plan was quickly squashed.
Emily and Pete had to use the facilities, and they did have them at that next bus stop, so we went there first. I only include this tid-bit because when we got to the facilities, there was a woman who had walked into one of the two “rooms”, screamed and came running back out! We could tell she was from Brazil, because she sounded just like an excited Carla or Marla.
Turns out, there was a bat down in the toilet. Now everyone else was looking in there and going “Ew” and walking out. Emily, of course, had to be the next person to look, and she was immediately concerned. The bat did not look good. Would you?
Well, just about that time, a man came to clean out the bathrooms, and we all thought someone had called a ranger or something, but it turned out he was just there to do his job. When we told him about the bat, he called a naturalist to come and ‘rescue’ the bat. We then HAD to wait around to make sure the bat was okay. Pete sat on the edge of the wall and ate veggie puffs and drank water, so he was fine. The naturalist showed up and picked up the bat and then proceeded to clean him off with clean water (I swear this is what Emily will do some day) We all got to touch the bat and get a really close look. She said he was a Pallid Bat and that he was a male (she even showed us how she could tell…don’t make me explain it) She tried to wash the chemicals off of him, and then she said she was going to let him dry for a few hours, and then set him free.
It actually turned out to be quite an adventure. The Grand Canyon was cool, but we got to touch a BAT!
We headed back and had a nice lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge, and then the kids said that they were done! So, we walked back to the car (bad idea…there had been a bus we could have taken…”Come on” I said…”It’s not that far,” I said…bad bad idea)
Anyway, there was the blessed car once we finally made it back to the parking lot, and we immediately jumped in, and Pete immediately fell asleep. It was almost in record time. The drive to Williams, AZ is nice and quick. There is a Grand Canyon train that takes people from Williams up to the Canyon for the day or more, and so this town is quite alive. We checked into “The Lodge on 66”. What a nice place! They have taken this old motor court and turned two rooms into one, so there is a sitting room with a kitchenette, and two BIG FLUFFY BEDS and a nice bathroom with a large tub (yay for Pete!)
Everyone took a shower, and then I took the laundry (we were at critical mass) across the street and got it all done in about an hour. I met the nicest people there. One couple lives on a ranch just north of here and they make their own electricity, and they have an outdoor tub and outhouse. They have horses and llamas (I learned why there are so many llamas around here…they make great ‘watchdogs’ to keep coyotes, etc. at bay, they don’t eat even half as much as a dog, and they don’t bark. When they are content, they HUM!)
Anyway, I greatly enjoyed my laundering experience. Once back at the room, we dressed and went to a very nice restaurant for dinner (reminded us of the Red Arrow Roadhouse). After dinner, we went to ANOTHER restaurant for their great pie. We rolled back to the motel like Weebles, but not before stopping at “Pete’s Route 66 Gas Station and Museum.” It was so cute and quite appropriate to our trip.
So, now everyone is snoring and I need to go to bed. Tomorrow we do the longest untouched stretch of 66 in western Arizona (when they show the Route 66 map during the Cars movie, this is the stretch they show). I am very excited! But I am also sad to leave this motel. I think this is the nicest one yet!
Day #8
Well, apparently a HUGE storm hit Holbrook last night. It is amazing what a cement structure can do to completely insulate you from the outside. We had a FANTASTIC night’s sleep! (Steve even said he thought the bed was ‘comfy’!)
We had the car packed up and ready to go by 9, and we all decided that another trip back to Joe and Aggie’s was in order. Steve ALMOST ordered the Huevo Rancheros again, but he decided Mexican food twice in a row was not nice to his body, NOR to us! We took a few more goofy pictures before heading out of town.
In this part of Arizona you are mainly on I-40. To get to anything that is vintage Route 66, you have to take an off-ramp, see the thing, and then get back on the highway. Such was the case in Joseph City where we stopped at the Jack Rabbit Trading Post. This place has been here forever. They are the home of the “Here It Is” sign as well as a huge Jack Rabbit. After photos on the Jack Rabbit, off the Jack Rabbit, BY the Jack Rabbit and under the Jack Rabbit, we went inside and looked around. We were quite successful in spending our money.
Back on the highway, we decided to get off at Two Arrows, AZ to see the Two Arrows Café. Unfortunately, it not only is closed, but the two giant arrows in the ground (which were its defining item) are falling into disrepair. I read that someone is working to move the entire thing, building, arrows, and all, to Flagstaff. It kind of defeats the purpose of being in Two Arrows, AZ. Nonetheless, we took a few pictures and headed back onto the highway.
As we drove past Two Guns, AZ I read out loud a story of how it was once a tough cow town complete with houses of ill repute, saloons, and nightly gunfights. Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing there now. Steve had the brilliant idea of opening up a family friendly saloon/café there to recapture the old west. I told him that there is NOTHING THERE for a reason! He thinks it is a viable idea. I think living the rest of my life in Two Guns is NOT a viable idea. We move on.
Our next stop was Winslow, Arizona. What a wonderful town! They have really been trying the past 5 years to spruce up the town. We stopped at a coffee house and were able to upload the past few days worth of blogs, as well as some very sweet coffee. We then ventured out to the “Standin’ on the Corner” statue. I don’t know how many of you know the Eagle’s song “Take it Easy” but the lyrics go:
“I was standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. There’s a girl, my lord, in a flat-bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me…”
Well, Winslow has taken that song to heart and has used up every bit of it. They have the statue of man holding a guitar at one of their corners, and someone has painted a mural behind the statue of a girl, my lord, in a flat-bed Ford slowing down to take a look at him! Unfortunately, the building burned last year, and so now they have these rods shoring up both sides of that last wall standing to try to save the mural.
We took the requisite number of photos, and then hopped back into the car. Our next stop (after a “Wait! We forgot to see something! TURN AROUND” moment) was La Posada. This is a refurbished hotel in Winslow that is absolutely georgeous. It is right where the Amtrak train comes into town, so you can literally get off the train and stay in the hotel. Where you would be coming from, I have no idea, but it seems like a grand idea.
Once we had thoroughly exhausted Winslow, we headed towards Flagstaff. We noticed that the closer we got, the more the temperature dropped. In Joseph City it had been 85 degrees. By the time we hit Winona (and you thought I’d forget it!), the temperature said 65! It was drizzly and very cool, compared to where we’d been. The high point of Flagstaff was when the back seat yelled “I HAVE THREE BARS! YES!!! YES!!!” Is he a teenager or what?!?
We continued in awful traffic into the downtown area along 66, and then bailed to go north to see Sunset Crater National Park. Once we were through Flagstaff, the ride got much nicer. While it was still cool, the rain stopped and there were only a few people on the road with us. We headed into the park and stopped to climb Lava Trail. It was only .8 miles total, no biggie, right? Well, it went STRAIGHT UP and then, once you got to the top and said “Wow, a big dip in the mountain where the top blew off a volcano” you had to turn around and go STRAIGHT DOWN!! Not fun when you have a 3-year-old who stops every 15 steps, and refuses to go any further, until you take his shoe off to get the lava pebbles out of them. Only later, back in the car did I read “This trail is quite treacherous and is not recommended for the average family.” Thanks. Note to self: Read ahead.
The next stop was at the Sunset Crater trail, and, of course we all had to do the BIG loop (1.5 miles) not the SMALL loop (.5 miles). But this time I was prepared. I put Pete in Hiking Shoes! No more pebble stops for me. We walked around and I read the self-guiding pamphlet and we saw the lava flows, the twisted tree trunks, and generally learned about volcanos. It was pretty cool. I think Pete even liked it (especially kicking the rocks part.)
Back in the car we all decided that we REALLY NEEDED to get to the Grand Canyon. It was getting late. But the drive we were on took us into the Watupaki National Monument past these really cool Indian Ruins, and someone had to go to the bathroom, and, well, they WERE right there, and then the Ranger told us that we’d LOVE the Blow Hole, and, when you say Blow Hole, well, Steve can’t resist!
So, we found ourselves with another guide book, and me reading as fast as I possibly could, walking as quickly as we could past the ruins, headed as fast as we could to the Blow Hole. You know what? It WAS pretty cool! Ask Steve about it sometime. ☺
We headed back to the car, trying to finish the guide book, and me starting to sound like that Fed Ex ‘fast talker’ guy from the 80s reading as fast as I could. We returned the guide book, thanked them for the “Blow Hole Tip” (Bet you can’t find a use for THAT phrase in YOUR daily life!) and RAN to the car.
We headed north as quickly as we could, stopped for Gas at a station called “Speedy” in which the pump took FOREVER to fill our tank (what did we expect?) and then headed into the Grand Canyon via the East entrance.
I must say, if you ever find yourself going into the Grand Canyon, the east entrance is the way to go. It isn’t used as much, and so we found ourselves driving along with almost no one around us. I wanted to stop and get out and photograph, but the sun was getting lower towards the horizon, there was lightening in the distance, and Steve was in GO! GO! GO! Mode. Any shots you may see from us of the east side of the canyon will be from a speeding car.
We made it to the campsite, it was VERY cool, which was encouraging, but concerned me at the same time. We weren’t going to sweat it out tonight, but was it going to be too cold for Pete? We got everything set up, but THIS TIME I put Pete at our feet instead of our heads. Unfortunately, I put Pete’s head right at Andy’s feet, and I spent the night worrying that Andy was going to smash his skull, but we were fine.
After the tent was set up, my plan had been to go to the lodge for dinner. The sun was setting and Steve was exhausted, so we decided to go to the Village Store (which is an AWESOME store if you ever get there) to buy something there instead. On our way out we passed a HUGE Bull Elk just STANDING in a campsite checking out to see if anything good had been left behind. We took a few pictures and headed on. He was an INCREDIBLE SIGHT! After buying some simple camp food, we headed back, got a fire going, and actually had a decent meal and a decent evening.
Night #2 in a tent ended up being much more pleasant than the first tent night. The storm never hit us, but I did hear a faint bit of rain as I fell asleep. Everyone slept peacefully, for the most part, except that Steve, Emily and I all heard Andy say in the middle of the night “Oh great, now I lost BOTH my front teeth!” He couldn’t explain it in the morning. I heard a coyote, or something, howling VERY nearby at one point, but no one else in my tent heard it. I did hear the zippers going crazy on the tent next door after the howling stopped, which made me giggle. I can only guess that they either 1. Unzipped the door and ran to their car for the rest of the night or 2. Closed all the windows to keep the animal out...Ha!
Tomorrow we will actually SEE the Grand Canyon!
We had the car packed up and ready to go by 9, and we all decided that another trip back to Joe and Aggie’s was in order. Steve ALMOST ordered the Huevo Rancheros again, but he decided Mexican food twice in a row was not nice to his body, NOR to us! We took a few more goofy pictures before heading out of town.
In this part of Arizona you are mainly on I-40. To get to anything that is vintage Route 66, you have to take an off-ramp, see the thing, and then get back on the highway. Such was the case in Joseph City where we stopped at the Jack Rabbit Trading Post. This place has been here forever. They are the home of the “Here It Is” sign as well as a huge Jack Rabbit. After photos on the Jack Rabbit, off the Jack Rabbit, BY the Jack Rabbit and under the Jack Rabbit, we went inside and looked around. We were quite successful in spending our money.
Back on the highway, we decided to get off at Two Arrows, AZ to see the Two Arrows Café. Unfortunately, it not only is closed, but the two giant arrows in the ground (which were its defining item) are falling into disrepair. I read that someone is working to move the entire thing, building, arrows, and all, to Flagstaff. It kind of defeats the purpose of being in Two Arrows, AZ. Nonetheless, we took a few pictures and headed back onto the highway.
As we drove past Two Guns, AZ I read out loud a story of how it was once a tough cow town complete with houses of ill repute, saloons, and nightly gunfights. Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing there now. Steve had the brilliant idea of opening up a family friendly saloon/café there to recapture the old west. I told him that there is NOTHING THERE for a reason! He thinks it is a viable idea. I think living the rest of my life in Two Guns is NOT a viable idea. We move on.
Our next stop was Winslow, Arizona. What a wonderful town! They have really been trying the past 5 years to spruce up the town. We stopped at a coffee house and were able to upload the past few days worth of blogs, as well as some very sweet coffee. We then ventured out to the “Standin’ on the Corner” statue. I don’t know how many of you know the Eagle’s song “Take it Easy” but the lyrics go:
“I was standin’ on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see. There’s a girl, my lord, in a flat-bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me…”
Well, Winslow has taken that song to heart and has used up every bit of it. They have the statue of man holding a guitar at one of their corners, and someone has painted a mural behind the statue of a girl, my lord, in a flat-bed Ford slowing down to take a look at him! Unfortunately, the building burned last year, and so now they have these rods shoring up both sides of that last wall standing to try to save the mural.
We took the requisite number of photos, and then hopped back into the car. Our next stop (after a “Wait! We forgot to see something! TURN AROUND” moment) was La Posada. This is a refurbished hotel in Winslow that is absolutely georgeous. It is right where the Amtrak train comes into town, so you can literally get off the train and stay in the hotel. Where you would be coming from, I have no idea, but it seems like a grand idea.
Once we had thoroughly exhausted Winslow, we headed towards Flagstaff. We noticed that the closer we got, the more the temperature dropped. In Joseph City it had been 85 degrees. By the time we hit Winona (and you thought I’d forget it!), the temperature said 65! It was drizzly and very cool, compared to where we’d been. The high point of Flagstaff was when the back seat yelled “I HAVE THREE BARS! YES!!! YES!!!” Is he a teenager or what?!?
We continued in awful traffic into the downtown area along 66, and then bailed to go north to see Sunset Crater National Park. Once we were through Flagstaff, the ride got much nicer. While it was still cool, the rain stopped and there were only a few people on the road with us. We headed into the park and stopped to climb Lava Trail. It was only .8 miles total, no biggie, right? Well, it went STRAIGHT UP and then, once you got to the top and said “Wow, a big dip in the mountain where the top blew off a volcano” you had to turn around and go STRAIGHT DOWN!! Not fun when you have a 3-year-old who stops every 15 steps, and refuses to go any further, until you take his shoe off to get the lava pebbles out of them. Only later, back in the car did I read “This trail is quite treacherous and is not recommended for the average family.” Thanks. Note to self: Read ahead.
The next stop was at the Sunset Crater trail, and, of course we all had to do the BIG loop (1.5 miles) not the SMALL loop (.5 miles). But this time I was prepared. I put Pete in Hiking Shoes! No more pebble stops for me. We walked around and I read the self-guiding pamphlet and we saw the lava flows, the twisted tree trunks, and generally learned about volcanos. It was pretty cool. I think Pete even liked it (especially kicking the rocks part.)
Back in the car we all decided that we REALLY NEEDED to get to the Grand Canyon. It was getting late. But the drive we were on took us into the Watupaki National Monument past these really cool Indian Ruins, and someone had to go to the bathroom, and, well, they WERE right there, and then the Ranger told us that we’d LOVE the Blow Hole, and, when you say Blow Hole, well, Steve can’t resist!
So, we found ourselves with another guide book, and me reading as fast as I possibly could, walking as quickly as we could past the ruins, headed as fast as we could to the Blow Hole. You know what? It WAS pretty cool! Ask Steve about it sometime. ☺
We headed back to the car, trying to finish the guide book, and me starting to sound like that Fed Ex ‘fast talker’ guy from the 80s reading as fast as I could. We returned the guide book, thanked them for the “Blow Hole Tip” (Bet you can’t find a use for THAT phrase in YOUR daily life!) and RAN to the car.
We headed north as quickly as we could, stopped for Gas at a station called “Speedy” in which the pump took FOREVER to fill our tank (what did we expect?) and then headed into the Grand Canyon via the East entrance.
I must say, if you ever find yourself going into the Grand Canyon, the east entrance is the way to go. It isn’t used as much, and so we found ourselves driving along with almost no one around us. I wanted to stop and get out and photograph, but the sun was getting lower towards the horizon, there was lightening in the distance, and Steve was in GO! GO! GO! Mode. Any shots you may see from us of the east side of the canyon will be from a speeding car.
We made it to the campsite, it was VERY cool, which was encouraging, but concerned me at the same time. We weren’t going to sweat it out tonight, but was it going to be too cold for Pete? We got everything set up, but THIS TIME I put Pete at our feet instead of our heads. Unfortunately, I put Pete’s head right at Andy’s feet, and I spent the night worrying that Andy was going to smash his skull, but we were fine.
After the tent was set up, my plan had been to go to the lodge for dinner. The sun was setting and Steve was exhausted, so we decided to go to the Village Store (which is an AWESOME store if you ever get there) to buy something there instead. On our way out we passed a HUGE Bull Elk just STANDING in a campsite checking out to see if anything good had been left behind. We took a few pictures and headed on. He was an INCREDIBLE SIGHT! After buying some simple camp food, we headed back, got a fire going, and actually had a decent meal and a decent evening.
Night #2 in a tent ended up being much more pleasant than the first tent night. The storm never hit us, but I did hear a faint bit of rain as I fell asleep. Everyone slept peacefully, for the most part, except that Steve, Emily and I all heard Andy say in the middle of the night “Oh great, now I lost BOTH my front teeth!” He couldn’t explain it in the morning. I heard a coyote, or something, howling VERY nearby at one point, but no one else in my tent heard it. I did hear the zippers going crazy on the tent next door after the howling stopped, which made me giggle. I can only guess that they either 1. Unzipped the door and ran to their car for the rest of the night or 2. Closed all the windows to keep the animal out...Ha!
Tomorrow we will actually SEE the Grand Canyon!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Day #7
Well, as you all know, we woke up early. It took us 2.5 hours to make coffee, clean up, shower and break camp. Now we know what we are up against for the rest of the camping portions of the trip.
After an ‘all you can eat breakfast’ at the campground store at 10:02 (Breakfast is from 6-10…she was VERY accommodating!) we headed back to Gallup via the way we came up. Once in Gallup, I am ashamed to say, we had a fun time at the Wal-Mart. We needed to refill lunch items, and the deli counter lady was a riot (I was all alone standing at the counter, she ignored me for 5 minutes, then finally turned around, sighed, and said “Can I help you?”…then every thing I asked for she just looked PAINED to give me!) We checked out, but didn’t leave until the ‘boys’ had purchased cool sunglasses. Now the desert will be SO MUCH MORE BEARABLE.
After warding off the beggars in the parking lot, we were on our way back down I-40, eating lunch and listening to the Cars CD. We rolled 2,000 miles in the car while John Mayer was signing Route 66. We thought that was quite appropriate!
The guidebooks I have mentioned that there was a dead-end of 66 that was tough to get to, but well worth the trip. So, being us, we tried it! We took a dirt road where a sign informed us “End Arizona Highway Maintenance”. The kids asked what that meant and Dad told them it meant we were “on our own.” We passed Jackrabbits in the road and a small hairless rodent we couldn’t quite identify (wild Chihuahuas?)
We traveled down this lonely stretch for about a half mile (road being half dirt, half old pavement) until we came to the Painted Desert Trading Post. Long since abandoned, it was quite a site. We took a few pictures but did not get close as it looks like it will fall over any minute! Jack Rittenhouse’s 1947 guide book mentions that it was a café, bus stop, curio shop and gas stop at one point. Now it is just a lonely building in the middle of nowhere.
A few yard further down the road and we found ourselves on an old bridge over a ‘river’ called “dead wash”. It is completely dry, but there are wrecks of old cars (and I mean, like 1940’s vintage?) embedded in the side of the river at the bend. There was a 66 shield painted on the bridge. It was quite an eerie site. How did those cars get there? I have so many questions…so few answers.
After many photos, we turned around and headed back towards the highway (the old road would have gone onto the Painted Desert, but that way is closed now that it is a National Park).
So, we headed into the Painted Desert National Park and Petrified Forest via I-40. We stopped at many an overlook and took pictures. We saw the old Painted Desert Inn which was refurbished in the 30’s by the Conservation Corps and now serves as an information center and gift shop.
We saw mounds of varying colors that truly looked like they had been painted. After crossing Route 66 a few times within the park (they even mention it in their guidebook…and you can tell where the old road was from the telephone poles still standing) we headed across I-40 and deep into the heart of the Petrified Forest. I tried to convince the kids that these were very scared trees, but they weren’t buying it.
We got out a few times and looked around at the amazing petrified wood (which basically means wood that is now rock…not scared wood) and even took a few hikes. So much fun in 90 degree weather, but we persevered! Pete was pretty hot, but he didn’t complain (just drank and drank and drank).
Once back in the car, we headed into Holbrook to our Motel. This was the night we got to stay in a Tee Pee! They are concrete structures that are just AMAZING! Owned by the original family, the son of the guy who built them checked us in. While we were filling out our information, a woman from Paris walked in and asked if he had anything for the night for her husband and two kids and he said No, they were filled up. I’m SO GLAD I made advanced reservations!
Once we checked out the Tee Pee (#2), we headed to Joe and Aggie’s Café. This place was given a special thanks in the Cars movie, with the tag “Hottest Chow on the Mother Road”. We weren’t sure what that meant, but once we got there, we found out! It was Mexican American fare, and their hot sauce was HOT HOT HOT! Steve LOVED it. They were all so nice in there. I saw photos of the Pixar team and they had their release letter in a catalog of letters (allowing Pixar to thank them in the credits). They also had some fun gift-shop stuff, and Pete immediately saw the Cars stuff!
After dinner, we headed over to the courthouse to watch ceremonial Indian dancing which they do every night. It was cool. Pete was completely enthralled. The outfits were GEORGEOUS. Unfortunately, the God’s of Video Taping have been against Andy. We were able to get new CDs at Wal-Mart earlier in the day, and Andy had checked them and made sure they were good, but as he went to videotape tonight, the battery died. Arguh! Glad the camera is holding up.
Speaking of camera, it is taking a LOT of time to get these photos uploaded. We’re getting them up as fast and as best we can. Hopefully there will be more soon.
As the Indians danced, we watched a fantastic lightening storm close in. As soon as they were done, we headed back to the Tee Pee and unloaded our car just before the rain really hit. Being in a huge triangular cement structure, you really don’t hear the rain or the trains that rumble behind the motel, and the bed is very comfy, so this is definitely the best place for us tonight…especially after LAST NIGHT’s sleep! Tomorrow, some of 66 and then onto the Grand Canyon!
After an ‘all you can eat breakfast’ at the campground store at 10:02 (Breakfast is from 6-10…she was VERY accommodating!) we headed back to Gallup via the way we came up. Once in Gallup, I am ashamed to say, we had a fun time at the Wal-Mart. We needed to refill lunch items, and the deli counter lady was a riot (I was all alone standing at the counter, she ignored me for 5 minutes, then finally turned around, sighed, and said “Can I help you?”…then every thing I asked for she just looked PAINED to give me!) We checked out, but didn’t leave until the ‘boys’ had purchased cool sunglasses. Now the desert will be SO MUCH MORE BEARABLE.
After warding off the beggars in the parking lot, we were on our way back down I-40, eating lunch and listening to the Cars CD. We rolled 2,000 miles in the car while John Mayer was signing Route 66. We thought that was quite appropriate!
The guidebooks I have mentioned that there was a dead-end of 66 that was tough to get to, but well worth the trip. So, being us, we tried it! We took a dirt road where a sign informed us “End Arizona Highway Maintenance”. The kids asked what that meant and Dad told them it meant we were “on our own.” We passed Jackrabbits in the road and a small hairless rodent we couldn’t quite identify (wild Chihuahuas?)
We traveled down this lonely stretch for about a half mile (road being half dirt, half old pavement) until we came to the Painted Desert Trading Post. Long since abandoned, it was quite a site. We took a few pictures but did not get close as it looks like it will fall over any minute! Jack Rittenhouse’s 1947 guide book mentions that it was a café, bus stop, curio shop and gas stop at one point. Now it is just a lonely building in the middle of nowhere.
A few yard further down the road and we found ourselves on an old bridge over a ‘river’ called “dead wash”. It is completely dry, but there are wrecks of old cars (and I mean, like 1940’s vintage?) embedded in the side of the river at the bend. There was a 66 shield painted on the bridge. It was quite an eerie site. How did those cars get there? I have so many questions…so few answers.
After many photos, we turned around and headed back towards the highway (the old road would have gone onto the Painted Desert, but that way is closed now that it is a National Park).
So, we headed into the Painted Desert National Park and Petrified Forest via I-40. We stopped at many an overlook and took pictures. We saw the old Painted Desert Inn which was refurbished in the 30’s by the Conservation Corps and now serves as an information center and gift shop.
We saw mounds of varying colors that truly looked like they had been painted. After crossing Route 66 a few times within the park (they even mention it in their guidebook…and you can tell where the old road was from the telephone poles still standing) we headed across I-40 and deep into the heart of the Petrified Forest. I tried to convince the kids that these were very scared trees, but they weren’t buying it.
We got out a few times and looked around at the amazing petrified wood (which basically means wood that is now rock…not scared wood) and even took a few hikes. So much fun in 90 degree weather, but we persevered! Pete was pretty hot, but he didn’t complain (just drank and drank and drank).
Once back in the car, we headed into Holbrook to our Motel. This was the night we got to stay in a Tee Pee! They are concrete structures that are just AMAZING! Owned by the original family, the son of the guy who built them checked us in. While we were filling out our information, a woman from Paris walked in and asked if he had anything for the night for her husband and two kids and he said No, they were filled up. I’m SO GLAD I made advanced reservations!
Once we checked out the Tee Pee (#2), we headed to Joe and Aggie’s Café. This place was given a special thanks in the Cars movie, with the tag “Hottest Chow on the Mother Road”. We weren’t sure what that meant, but once we got there, we found out! It was Mexican American fare, and their hot sauce was HOT HOT HOT! Steve LOVED it. They were all so nice in there. I saw photos of the Pixar team and they had their release letter in a catalog of letters (allowing Pixar to thank them in the credits). They also had some fun gift-shop stuff, and Pete immediately saw the Cars stuff!
After dinner, we headed over to the courthouse to watch ceremonial Indian dancing which they do every night. It was cool. Pete was completely enthralled. The outfits were GEORGEOUS. Unfortunately, the God’s of Video Taping have been against Andy. We were able to get new CDs at Wal-Mart earlier in the day, and Andy had checked them and made sure they were good, but as he went to videotape tonight, the battery died. Arguh! Glad the camera is holding up.
Speaking of camera, it is taking a LOT of time to get these photos uploaded. We’re getting them up as fast and as best we can. Hopefully there will be more soon.
As the Indians danced, we watched a fantastic lightening storm close in. As soon as they were done, we headed back to the Tee Pee and unloaded our car just before the rain really hit. Being in a huge triangular cement structure, you really don’t hear the rain or the trains that rumble behind the motel, and the bed is very comfy, so this is definitely the best place for us tonight…especially after LAST NIGHT’s sleep! Tomorrow, some of 66 and then onto the Grand Canyon!
DAY #6
After an exciting night for me (while I was doing laundry I noticed that the extension to the El Ranchero was on fire and there were firemen all over the place…it is across the street so it didn’t disturb my sleeping family at all) we had a leisurely start to our day. We ate breakfast in the hotel, and Steve enjoyed an authentic Mexican breakfast – Huevos Rancheros – complete with Mexican rice and beans, Woof! We finally headed off away from Route 66 north towards Colorado.
Almost the entire time heading up we were on a Navajo Reservation. It is truly beautiful country. We saw ranches and horses, and Shiprock Mountain (Shiprock, NM is quite a large town as towns go out here) and lots and lots of mesas/hills/mountains. It was a lovely drive north – and a nice break nice to not have to figure out where to turn next to stay on 66!
We arrived at Mesa Verde National Park around 12:45 and quickly tried to figure out the lay of the land. We decided to forgo picking a campground site until later (the ranger at the entrance said there were always plenty) and head straight in to get tickets to the guided tours. We got 3:30 tickets for Balcony House and 5:30 tickets for Cliff Palace. Both places are up in the rock and quite interesting to get to. Balcony House requires you to climb a 32 foot ladder, which Pete did with flying colors! (after his experience at City Museum I knew he could do it). We also required crawling on hands and knees through a small entrance inbetween rooms. We crawled…Pete merely bent over. Sometimes it is really nice to be 3 feet tall!
It was a bit hairy for me, though, with him. I didn’t look up as much as I should have, because I was constantly making sure Pete wasn’t walking off the edge of the cliff dwelling! Emily wondered why they hadn’t put up guardrails. * Sigh * Oh Emily.
So, after a long afternoon of pretending we were Pueblo Indians living on the side of a cliff, it was time to get camping! I have learned two things from this experience. 1. If you are setting up a campsite at 7:30 at night, DON’T try to do dinner too. We were running to get set up, cook, eat, breakdown, and get into the tent by 10. 2. Be organized INSIDE the car before you start unpacking the top. Because it never gets better inside the car once everything from on top comes down!
Since I was unable to write my blog last night (who could find the computer?!?), I can also give you the skinny on what happened during the night, in chronological order (although I can’t give you exact time which is probably a good thing):
1. We all snuggled into our sleeping bags watching lightening in the distance creep ever closer.
2. I decide to close one window “just in case”. Pete insists on closing the other window, but loses the fight.
3. I wake in the middle of the night to a cool breeze and more lightening. I decide to go ahead and close the other window.
4. Pete wakes up crying. I wrap him in blankie.
5. Pete wakes up crying again. I decide he is cold and so brings him into the double sleeping-bag with me and Steve. The lightening still looks impressive.
6. I wake up in between Pete and Steve COMPLETELY crushed (only able to sleep on my side), and so I move to Pete’s bed, which is located perpendicular to our bags.
7. I wake up FREEZING and so I try to slip down into the thin top that is Pete’s sleeping bag. I then realize that this is made for someone 3 feet tall, not 5.5 feet tall. I embrace the fetal position and attempt to continue sleeping (lightening occasionally flashes…it’s no longer threatening, just annoying)
8. Emily awakens, throws off her sleeping bag top and blanket and says “I am so HOT!” I immediately fish around, find the blanket and steal it from her. On top of Pete’s bag I can now stretch out with at least a blanket.
9. Steve wakes up with Emily and Pete pushing on him from the left, and Andy pushing on him from the right (Andy has his head completely on Steve’s pillow!) Steve picks up Andy’s upper body and hurls it towards the tent grunting “Move OVER.” I just laugh, sleeping above their heads on my tiny air mattress.
10. It begins to rain. No one cares anymore.
11. We all awake to the sun and Pete standing over us saying “The dark is GONE!” Huzzah.
Almost the entire time heading up we were on a Navajo Reservation. It is truly beautiful country. We saw ranches and horses, and Shiprock Mountain (Shiprock, NM is quite a large town as towns go out here) and lots and lots of mesas/hills/mountains. It was a lovely drive north – and a nice break nice to not have to figure out where to turn next to stay on 66!
We arrived at Mesa Verde National Park around 12:45 and quickly tried to figure out the lay of the land. We decided to forgo picking a campground site until later (the ranger at the entrance said there were always plenty) and head straight in to get tickets to the guided tours. We got 3:30 tickets for Balcony House and 5:30 tickets for Cliff Palace. Both places are up in the rock and quite interesting to get to. Balcony House requires you to climb a 32 foot ladder, which Pete did with flying colors! (after his experience at City Museum I knew he could do it). We also required crawling on hands and knees through a small entrance inbetween rooms. We crawled…Pete merely bent over. Sometimes it is really nice to be 3 feet tall!
It was a bit hairy for me, though, with him. I didn’t look up as much as I should have, because I was constantly making sure Pete wasn’t walking off the edge of the cliff dwelling! Emily wondered why they hadn’t put up guardrails. * Sigh * Oh Emily.
So, after a long afternoon of pretending we were Pueblo Indians living on the side of a cliff, it was time to get camping! I have learned two things from this experience. 1. If you are setting up a campsite at 7:30 at night, DON’T try to do dinner too. We were running to get set up, cook, eat, breakdown, and get into the tent by 10. 2. Be organized INSIDE the car before you start unpacking the top. Because it never gets better inside the car once everything from on top comes down!
Since I was unable to write my blog last night (who could find the computer?!?), I can also give you the skinny on what happened during the night, in chronological order (although I can’t give you exact time which is probably a good thing):
1. We all snuggled into our sleeping bags watching lightening in the distance creep ever closer.
2. I decide to close one window “just in case”. Pete insists on closing the other window, but loses the fight.
3. I wake in the middle of the night to a cool breeze and more lightening. I decide to go ahead and close the other window.
4. Pete wakes up crying. I wrap him in blankie.
5. Pete wakes up crying again. I decide he is cold and so brings him into the double sleeping-bag with me and Steve. The lightening still looks impressive.
6. I wake up in between Pete and Steve COMPLETELY crushed (only able to sleep on my side), and so I move to Pete’s bed, which is located perpendicular to our bags.
7. I wake up FREEZING and so I try to slip down into the thin top that is Pete’s sleeping bag. I then realize that this is made for someone 3 feet tall, not 5.5 feet tall. I embrace the fetal position and attempt to continue sleeping (lightening occasionally flashes…it’s no longer threatening, just annoying)
8. Emily awakens, throws off her sleeping bag top and blanket and says “I am so HOT!” I immediately fish around, find the blanket and steal it from her. On top of Pete’s bag I can now stretch out with at least a blanket.
9. Steve wakes up with Emily and Pete pushing on him from the left, and Andy pushing on him from the right (Andy has his head completely on Steve’s pillow!) Steve picks up Andy’s upper body and hurls it towards the tent grunting “Move OVER.” I just laugh, sleeping above their heads on my tiny air mattress.
10. It begins to rain. No one cares anymore.
11. We all awake to the sun and Pete standing over us saying “The dark is GONE!” Huzzah.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Day #5
A nice cool morning greeted us today. After showers all around (even Pete!), we packed up and headed out to a restaurant called Kix on 66. It had AMAZING bakery items! We stuffed ourselves silly, and then drove down the main drag of Tucumcari. It really was once a bustling spot for 66 traffic. It’s holding on, but you can tell it wasn’t what it was. Steve thinks that this town looks the most like Radiator Springs so far. They do have the Tucumcari Mountain in the distance which does look like the Radiator Springs mountain in Cars.
Today was spent on and off the Route. Much of 66 is buried by Interstate 40, so there were times we were actually on the route while being on the highway! We got off a few times, even backtracked when we missed an exit, to see some of the beautiful drives that the old route offered us. As I looked across the plains towards the mesas, I could easily envision a group of cowboys and/or Indians on their horses riding across the plains.
We drove past more old hotels and gas stations. We stopped occasionally to get ice or just take a bathroom break. We enjoyed watching the storms move across the mesas as we traveled. At one point they finally found us and we drove through some driving rain in Albuquerque. We tried to get off the main highway and find 66, but we got so turned around that we got back on 40 and said “Forget it!” A ways out of Albuquerque we found the route again and started back down it.
We decided that we all really wanted to swim in the hotel pool tonight (the children had hoped for a pool yesterday, but the Blue Swallow didn’t have one), so we wanted to be sure we got to the hotel as soon as we possibly could. I did give the children the choice, however of seeing one of three things: An underground museum in Grants, NM which showed the history of mining, Sky City in Acoma, NM which was a tour of one of the oldest Indian pueblos in the area, or quite a detour to the Ice Caves to see rock and ice formations buried deep in the earth.
While Emily really wanted to see the Ice Caves, we decided it would be too long of a detour, so we decided on Sky City. While driving there, we were taken with the beautiful rock formations. We could see the city in the distance, and it was beautiful. When we got there, we realized that it would be at least an hour and a half touring, and it would cost us almost $60 for everyone to go. We decided that the Indian Cliff Dwellings tomorrow would be enough, so we headed back to the Route, appreciating the beautiful formations again.
Once back on the route, we passed lava flows which flowed here over 20,000 years ago! We stopped and touched the lava (I touched a lava!), and then headed on. We got into Gallup around 6, which was the earliest we have arrived ANYWHERE so far! We checked into the El Ranchero which is a beautiful old hotel where the stars have stayed. If you go upstairs, you can see all of their signed photos on the wall. Many a famous cowboy stayed here while filing in the area. Consequently, many a film was filmed around here.
We checked in and asked about the pool. Peter had said “We’re going in the pool!” for the last two hours in the car. The man at the front desk told us that some kids had thrown rocks in the pool over the weekend and it had jammed up the filter, and so it was closed for repair. Poor Peter! Poor kids!! We ended up offering Peter a tubby, and he seemed pretty happy with that.
We ate at the restaurant attached to the hotel. Steve really enjoyed their Mexican combo plate. Some of that stuff was HOT (spicy hot!) After that, we made a trip to the gift shop, drove down the strip (not a lot to see) and then headed back to the room for Peter’s tubby. It also had become surprisingly cold while we were at dinner! I thought this was the desert!!
Once back at the room, I was thrilled to see that they have a guest laundry three doors down from our room! I don’t have much, but I’ll do what I can before we go camping tomorrow night! Pete is done with his tubby and being a maniac, so it’s time to settle down. Tomorrow, Indian Cliff Dwellings. Not sure if the national parks have any WiFi hot spots, so it may be awhile before my next post.
Today was spent on and off the Route. Much of 66 is buried by Interstate 40, so there were times we were actually on the route while being on the highway! We got off a few times, even backtracked when we missed an exit, to see some of the beautiful drives that the old route offered us. As I looked across the plains towards the mesas, I could easily envision a group of cowboys and/or Indians on their horses riding across the plains.
We drove past more old hotels and gas stations. We stopped occasionally to get ice or just take a bathroom break. We enjoyed watching the storms move across the mesas as we traveled. At one point they finally found us and we drove through some driving rain in Albuquerque. We tried to get off the main highway and find 66, but we got so turned around that we got back on 40 and said “Forget it!” A ways out of Albuquerque we found the route again and started back down it.
We decided that we all really wanted to swim in the hotel pool tonight (the children had hoped for a pool yesterday, but the Blue Swallow didn’t have one), so we wanted to be sure we got to the hotel as soon as we possibly could. I did give the children the choice, however of seeing one of three things: An underground museum in Grants, NM which showed the history of mining, Sky City in Acoma, NM which was a tour of one of the oldest Indian pueblos in the area, or quite a detour to the Ice Caves to see rock and ice formations buried deep in the earth.
While Emily really wanted to see the Ice Caves, we decided it would be too long of a detour, so we decided on Sky City. While driving there, we were taken with the beautiful rock formations. We could see the city in the distance, and it was beautiful. When we got there, we realized that it would be at least an hour and a half touring, and it would cost us almost $60 for everyone to go. We decided that the Indian Cliff Dwellings tomorrow would be enough, so we headed back to the Route, appreciating the beautiful formations again.
Once back on the route, we passed lava flows which flowed here over 20,000 years ago! We stopped and touched the lava (I touched a lava!), and then headed on. We got into Gallup around 6, which was the earliest we have arrived ANYWHERE so far! We checked into the El Ranchero which is a beautiful old hotel where the stars have stayed. If you go upstairs, you can see all of their signed photos on the wall. Many a famous cowboy stayed here while filing in the area. Consequently, many a film was filmed around here.
We checked in and asked about the pool. Peter had said “We’re going in the pool!” for the last two hours in the car. The man at the front desk told us that some kids had thrown rocks in the pool over the weekend and it had jammed up the filter, and so it was closed for repair. Poor Peter! Poor kids!! We ended up offering Peter a tubby, and he seemed pretty happy with that.
We ate at the restaurant attached to the hotel. Steve really enjoyed their Mexican combo plate. Some of that stuff was HOT (spicy hot!) After that, we made a trip to the gift shop, drove down the strip (not a lot to see) and then headed back to the room for Peter’s tubby. It also had become surprisingly cold while we were at dinner! I thought this was the desert!!
Once back at the room, I was thrilled to see that they have a guest laundry three doors down from our room! I don’t have much, but I’ll do what I can before we go camping tomorrow night! Pete is done with his tubby and being a maniac, so it’s time to settle down. Tomorrow, Indian Cliff Dwellings. Not sure if the national parks have any WiFi hot spots, so it may be awhile before my next post.
Day #4
It’s always interesting when you start your day at the Laundromat. Hurrah. Got everything dried while watching the Beverly Hillbillies on a TV there. Somehow, that seemed appropriate!
Got back to the room and it was a mad dash to get everyone showered and to the car. Pete really needs a tubby, but that tub was gross, so we’ve decided that tonight’s place is supposed to be really good, so we’ll wait. Besides, after everyone was done getting their skin peeled by the water pressure, the drain couldn’t keep up and so the tub was almost overflowing with used shower water…yuck!
Before we left, we documented the hotel with photos, including Room 215 where Elvis used to stay. Hmmm….donuts anyone? Instead we had a quick meal of cereal in the room, and then we were off…not very far, though. We were going right across the street! The Route 66 Museum was there. The birth of the Mother Road began in Oklahoma, and Clinton has always been a huge supporter of keeping the road going. Their museum consisted of walking through various rooms, each one dedicated to a different decade and what that brought to the road. The 70’s room had an old VW bus. And then it hit me. I reminded the family that the Pixar team came through here and saw this museum (they also had stayed across the street where we stayed). Perhaps that bus was the first inkling of Fillmore?
Anyway, the 20 minute film which was showing at the end was really good for the kids. Gave them a great sense of the history of the road (as well as of America!) and showed them with real footage what we’ve been talking about. Pete was busy with a sticker on the floor, so he didn’t distract from the film too much. ☺
After a quick stop in the gift shop, we were off. Today was a on/off the Mother Road kind-of day. We had a lot of distance to cover to get to New Mexico, and the road is just a frontage road at time. We would get off the road if we wanted to see something, drive 66 a bit, and then get back onto the highway. In some places you had to drive on the highway anyway!
We went past another Route 66 museum in Elk City. It was huge, and we just didn’t have any more time, but we photographed it. Into Erick, OK I told Steve we had to stop at the Curiosity Stop. It is home to Harley and Annabelle, the Mediocre Melody Makers. (both mentioned in the special thanks of the Cars movie!) I had seen them on my DVD, too. It isn’t a shop or anything, just a stop. They invited us in, gave us lemonade, talked with us for a spell, and then sang Route 66 to us. Andy got it on his camera, but there was something wrong with his disc. ☹ They were quite the characters. They had to get the shop ready because a group of about 30 Norweigan Bikers (I’m not kidding!) were coming through, so we thanked them, took some pictures and headed back down the road.
We crossed into Texas after going through the ghost town of Texola. Took some photos. We YEHAW and we were off! Headed to our STEAK MEAL. Unfortunately, it was getting late for lunch. I think we ended up having it for linner? Dunch? It was about 2:30, but the steak was mmm mmm, good! The Big Texan in Amarillo will offer your meal free if you can eat a 72 ounce steak in one hour. No one was trying it when we got there (and we had already said NO, ANDY), so he had to settle with a 21 ounce. He was full afterwards!
Another trip to the gift shop, some photos in the HUGE rocking chair, and we were off…to Home Depot! I bought some spray paint, and we headed to Cadillac Ranch. It is a series of Cadillacs that Stanley Marsh (an very rich man who loves art) buried half way in the ground in the 70’s. (We had seen Bug Ranch in Conway earlier in the day which is a smaller version someone did recently burying old VW Bugs part way into the ground.) People are constantly spray painting them with various things, and we let the kids do their thing. It was hot out there (it’s in the middle of a field) but Steve assured me it was a dry heat. Blah.
We loaded up the car again and headed to New Mexico. We were excited to get to Adrian, TX to the Midpoint Café. I had told the kids to not have dessert at the Big Texan because THIS was where we were going to get dessert! It is the home of the Ugly Crust Pie (and also mentioned in the Cars credits). This town is located midway between Chicago and Los Angeles (there’s even a sign!). Well, we pulled up and saw that they had closed 30 minutes earlier!! I was SO sad. We could look in the windows and see the pie in the cases. It was CRUEL! Everyone else got in the car and opened up the cookies. I just pouted all the way into New Mexico.
At Exit 0 I told Steve that I was tired of the ‘super slab’ as Mother Roaders call the Interstate. So, we got off and headed through Glenrio, another ghost town. As we drove into New Mexico the road went from paved to dirt. The navigation system said “Historic 66” so I knew we were on a very old version. We drove for about 5 miles past all sorts of beautiful scenery far far away from the superslab. Our car got FILTHY (there was a layer of grime on everything IN the car too), but it was beautiful. The scenery had changed so much since our ‘pie stop’. We had started seeing mesas and a definite rise and fall to the previously completely flat land. There were no trees, but what there were can only be called brush. I could envision cowboys coming up over the ridge chasing a bandit.
We made it to the Blue Swallow an hour earlier than I had thought (Thank you Mountain Time!). It is an old motor court which has been lovingly kept up. Some of the rooms still have adjoining garages (as these Motor Courts did). We have adjoining rooms with the kids in one room and Steve and I in the other. The hall that connected us has a cute little closet and shared bathroom with a shower (Sorry Pete…tubby tomorrow night?). It is really a sweet hotel…and a favorite with “Mother Roaders” according to my guide books.
After a quick small dinner at Del’s (“Mom, I am still so FULL!” – Andy), we tucked in for the night. Tomorrow…all of New Mexico!
FYI: For a link to the pictures we have uploaded to the web so far, go to http://www.flickr.com/gp/34503352@N00/6M21nN
Got back to the room and it was a mad dash to get everyone showered and to the car. Pete really needs a tubby, but that tub was gross, so we’ve decided that tonight’s place is supposed to be really good, so we’ll wait. Besides, after everyone was done getting their skin peeled by the water pressure, the drain couldn’t keep up and so the tub was almost overflowing with used shower water…yuck!
Before we left, we documented the hotel with photos, including Room 215 where Elvis used to stay. Hmmm….donuts anyone? Instead we had a quick meal of cereal in the room, and then we were off…not very far, though. We were going right across the street! The Route 66 Museum was there. The birth of the Mother Road began in Oklahoma, and Clinton has always been a huge supporter of keeping the road going. Their museum consisted of walking through various rooms, each one dedicated to a different decade and what that brought to the road. The 70’s room had an old VW bus. And then it hit me. I reminded the family that the Pixar team came through here and saw this museum (they also had stayed across the street where we stayed). Perhaps that bus was the first inkling of Fillmore?
Anyway, the 20 minute film which was showing at the end was really good for the kids. Gave them a great sense of the history of the road (as well as of America!) and showed them with real footage what we’ve been talking about. Pete was busy with a sticker on the floor, so he didn’t distract from the film too much. ☺
After a quick stop in the gift shop, we were off. Today was a on/off the Mother Road kind-of day. We had a lot of distance to cover to get to New Mexico, and the road is just a frontage road at time. We would get off the road if we wanted to see something, drive 66 a bit, and then get back onto the highway. In some places you had to drive on the highway anyway!
We went past another Route 66 museum in Elk City. It was huge, and we just didn’t have any more time, but we photographed it. Into Erick, OK I told Steve we had to stop at the Curiosity Stop. It is home to Harley and Annabelle, the Mediocre Melody Makers. (both mentioned in the special thanks of the Cars movie!) I had seen them on my DVD, too. It isn’t a shop or anything, just a stop. They invited us in, gave us lemonade, talked with us for a spell, and then sang Route 66 to us. Andy got it on his camera, but there was something wrong with his disc. ☹ They were quite the characters. They had to get the shop ready because a group of about 30 Norweigan Bikers (I’m not kidding!) were coming through, so we thanked them, took some pictures and headed back down the road.
We crossed into Texas after going through the ghost town of Texola. Took some photos. We YEHAW and we were off! Headed to our STEAK MEAL. Unfortunately, it was getting late for lunch. I think we ended up having it for linner? Dunch? It was about 2:30, but the steak was mmm mmm, good! The Big Texan in Amarillo will offer your meal free if you can eat a 72 ounce steak in one hour. No one was trying it when we got there (and we had already said NO, ANDY), so he had to settle with a 21 ounce. He was full afterwards!
Another trip to the gift shop, some photos in the HUGE rocking chair, and we were off…to Home Depot! I bought some spray paint, and we headed to Cadillac Ranch. It is a series of Cadillacs that Stanley Marsh (an very rich man who loves art) buried half way in the ground in the 70’s. (We had seen Bug Ranch in Conway earlier in the day which is a smaller version someone did recently burying old VW Bugs part way into the ground.) People are constantly spray painting them with various things, and we let the kids do their thing. It was hot out there (it’s in the middle of a field) but Steve assured me it was a dry heat. Blah.
We loaded up the car again and headed to New Mexico. We were excited to get to Adrian, TX to the Midpoint Café. I had told the kids to not have dessert at the Big Texan because THIS was where we were going to get dessert! It is the home of the Ugly Crust Pie (and also mentioned in the Cars credits). This town is located midway between Chicago and Los Angeles (there’s even a sign!). Well, we pulled up and saw that they had closed 30 minutes earlier!! I was SO sad. We could look in the windows and see the pie in the cases. It was CRUEL! Everyone else got in the car and opened up the cookies. I just pouted all the way into New Mexico.
At Exit 0 I told Steve that I was tired of the ‘super slab’ as Mother Roaders call the Interstate. So, we got off and headed through Glenrio, another ghost town. As we drove into New Mexico the road went from paved to dirt. The navigation system said “Historic 66” so I knew we were on a very old version. We drove for about 5 miles past all sorts of beautiful scenery far far away from the superslab. Our car got FILTHY (there was a layer of grime on everything IN the car too), but it was beautiful. The scenery had changed so much since our ‘pie stop’. We had started seeing mesas and a definite rise and fall to the previously completely flat land. There were no trees, but what there were can only be called brush. I could envision cowboys coming up over the ridge chasing a bandit.
We made it to the Blue Swallow an hour earlier than I had thought (Thank you Mountain Time!). It is an old motor court which has been lovingly kept up. Some of the rooms still have adjoining garages (as these Motor Courts did). We have adjoining rooms with the kids in one room and Steve and I in the other. The hall that connected us has a cute little closet and shared bathroom with a shower (Sorry Pete…tubby tomorrow night?). It is really a sweet hotel…and a favorite with “Mother Roaders” according to my guide books.
After a quick small dinner at Del’s (“Mom, I am still so FULL!” – Andy), we tucked in for the night. Tomorrow…all of New Mexico!
FYI: For a link to the pictures we have uploaded to the web so far, go to http://www.flickr.com/gp/34503352@N00/6M21nN
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Day #3
We started out early today because there was so much we wanted to see. We took off immediately down the Route and enjoyed the quiet Sunday morning. Our first stop was at the world’s LARGEST Totem Pole in Foyil. We took many pictures, and petted the two family dogs that belonged to the caretaker. Because it was so early, we were the only ones there. It was nice!
We found our way back to the Route and went into what looked like a convenience store, but ended up being a restaurant. So, we all went in and had a nice breakfast. After that, we did need a convenience store for ice. It was getting HOT.
While at the store, we noticed a runaway horse. A few people at the filling station were watching it, and one guy got on the phone. Perhaps they recognized the horse? It was beautiful. I hope they caught it!
We saw the Will Rogers memorial, the Catoosa Whale, made it through Tulsa and ended up in Stroud at the Rock Café for lunch. (1:30 is still lunch time, right?) The food was EXCELLENT. They say that the food network is coming next week to do a segment on them! The owner, Dawn, wasn’t in which was a shame. She was the inspiration for Sally in the movie Cars. We did get some fun pictures outside where she has a wooden Sally on display.
With full tummies, we made our way down one of the most beautiful parts of Route 66. It was such an idyllic scene of cattle and horses in the distance. And with no one else on the road, we could slow down and take as many pictures as we wanted!
We saw oil drums, beautiful old bridges and plenty of ranches. We saw Garth Brook’s hometown, the Oklahoma City memorial, a beautifully restored Round Barn and one of the first ever gas stations in America (well, what is left of it).
As we got closer to Clinton, we decided to stop for dinner. We ate quickly hoping to get to the hotel for a dip in the pool because it was so hot. But alas, the pool is under repair. So, Emily and I ran to the Laundromat to get some clothes cleaned, and the boys hung out in the hotel room. Unfortunately, the Laundromat closed at 10, and we started at 9:30, and the clothes took 30 minutes to wash, so we now have a laundry bag full of wet clothes.
I know where I’m headed back to tomorrow when they open at 7! Ye haw. A busy day tomorrow too. We are all looking forward to a good Texas steak meal…
We found our way back to the Route and went into what looked like a convenience store, but ended up being a restaurant. So, we all went in and had a nice breakfast. After that, we did need a convenience store for ice. It was getting HOT.
While at the store, we noticed a runaway horse. A few people at the filling station were watching it, and one guy got on the phone. Perhaps they recognized the horse? It was beautiful. I hope they caught it!
We saw the Will Rogers memorial, the Catoosa Whale, made it through Tulsa and ended up in Stroud at the Rock Café for lunch. (1:30 is still lunch time, right?) The food was EXCELLENT. They say that the food network is coming next week to do a segment on them! The owner, Dawn, wasn’t in which was a shame. She was the inspiration for Sally in the movie Cars. We did get some fun pictures outside where she has a wooden Sally on display.
With full tummies, we made our way down one of the most beautiful parts of Route 66. It was such an idyllic scene of cattle and horses in the distance. And with no one else on the road, we could slow down and take as many pictures as we wanted!
We saw oil drums, beautiful old bridges and plenty of ranches. We saw Garth Brook’s hometown, the Oklahoma City memorial, a beautifully restored Round Barn and one of the first ever gas stations in America (well, what is left of it).
As we got closer to Clinton, we decided to stop for dinner. We ate quickly hoping to get to the hotel for a dip in the pool because it was so hot. But alas, the pool is under repair. So, Emily and I ran to the Laundromat to get some clothes cleaned, and the boys hung out in the hotel room. Unfortunately, the Laundromat closed at 10, and we started at 9:30, and the clothes took 30 minutes to wash, so we now have a laundry bag full of wet clothes.
I know where I’m headed back to tomorrow when they open at 7! Ye haw. A busy day tomorrow too. We are all looking forward to a good Texas steak meal…
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Day #2
We started out slow, enjoying the morning in our nice room. We finally loaded up and headed out…but not very far! Our first stop was 1 minute down the road at Wrink’s Market. We thought it would be closed. Mr. Wrinkle died in 2005, and it had been closed since. But NO! His SON opened it nary one week ago! We ended up spending so much time there visiting with Terry Wrinkle and his customers (plus buying a few things) that we were REALLY late on our start to the day when we finally got going! No worries. We are on the Mother Road where they say it’s not the destination, it’s the journey..
Before we headed out of Lebanon, though, we did stop at the local Library to see their special tribute to Route 66. They had a sample motel and soda shop set up, plus the blueprints to building the road, and other collectible items. These little museums are so neat.
So, we tripped along seeing various open and closed shops and motels, taking pictures and generally gawking out both sides of the window. We did make a major stop at the Exotic Animal Paradise in Marshfield, MO. We thought we had made a horrible mistake at first when we saw their petting zoo, but once we did the ‘drive through safari’ we realized it was worth the money. The kids had a BLAST feeding the animals from the car. We had a few very forward Emus and Donkeys come right INTO the car window! Peter squealed with delight…Mom squealed in absolute fear!
We also stopped suddenly beside a replica of an old Sinclair gas station and met Gary, the nicest man! He told us all about his shop and his friends, and he gave us all signed copies of the Route 66 Pulse newspaper which had the opening of Cars and an interview with Michael Wallis on it. He was so incredibly friendly and loved having people stop in!
After that, we were headed to Kansas. We skipped downtown Joplin due to the time, and headed straight for Galena. As we wandered toward Kansas, Pete decided he’d had too much fun and it was time to nap. We entered Kansas, went about 2 miles, turned the corner at Galena and saw before our very eyes the REAL TOW-MATER!! (from the movie Cars). And, as if on cue, Pete woke up and said “It’s Mater!” Well, that was good for about 45 minutes buying T-shirts, taking pictures, and getting the whole story about the Pixar team and the truck. It was really fun. We also made sure we saw the Arch Rainbow Bridge and Eisler Brother’s store (they were given a special ‘thanks’ at the end of the Cars movie). Kansas only has 13 miles of the Mother Road, but they contain some pretty good stuff!
We made it into Oklahoma and past a few interesting towns. Vinita isn’t all I wanted it to be, though. The only place in which I was interested in eating was closed, and the drive-in restaurant in the nearby town didn’t sound so appealing in the hot sticky night. So, we ended up taking the kids to the World’s Largest McDonalds which is located in a highway oasis over Hwy. 44. I know, I said no fast food on this trip, but I decided that because it was the World’s Largest, it would somehow, in a weird way, be an okay exception to my rule. We were able to park on a side road and not have to get onto the Toll Road to enter the restaurant. Now I know how the employees do it!
So, we are now at our roadside retreat for the night. We are all exhausted and looking forward to an early tomorrow. We have about 50 more miles to go tomorrow, and we had trouble getting in all the miles we had to today! We could take two months to do this trip and still not have enough time!
Before we headed out of Lebanon, though, we did stop at the local Library to see their special tribute to Route 66. They had a sample motel and soda shop set up, plus the blueprints to building the road, and other collectible items. These little museums are so neat.
So, we tripped along seeing various open and closed shops and motels, taking pictures and generally gawking out both sides of the window. We did make a major stop at the Exotic Animal Paradise in Marshfield, MO. We thought we had made a horrible mistake at first when we saw their petting zoo, but once we did the ‘drive through safari’ we realized it was worth the money. The kids had a BLAST feeding the animals from the car. We had a few very forward Emus and Donkeys come right INTO the car window! Peter squealed with delight…Mom squealed in absolute fear!
We also stopped suddenly beside a replica of an old Sinclair gas station and met Gary, the nicest man! He told us all about his shop and his friends, and he gave us all signed copies of the Route 66 Pulse newspaper which had the opening of Cars and an interview with Michael Wallis on it. He was so incredibly friendly and loved having people stop in!
After that, we were headed to Kansas. We skipped downtown Joplin due to the time, and headed straight for Galena. As we wandered toward Kansas, Pete decided he’d had too much fun and it was time to nap. We entered Kansas, went about 2 miles, turned the corner at Galena and saw before our very eyes the REAL TOW-MATER!! (from the movie Cars). And, as if on cue, Pete woke up and said “It’s Mater!” Well, that was good for about 45 minutes buying T-shirts, taking pictures, and getting the whole story about the Pixar team and the truck. It was really fun. We also made sure we saw the Arch Rainbow Bridge and Eisler Brother’s store (they were given a special ‘thanks’ at the end of the Cars movie). Kansas only has 13 miles of the Mother Road, but they contain some pretty good stuff!
We made it into Oklahoma and past a few interesting towns. Vinita isn’t all I wanted it to be, though. The only place in which I was interested in eating was closed, and the drive-in restaurant in the nearby town didn’t sound so appealing in the hot sticky night. So, we ended up taking the kids to the World’s Largest McDonalds which is located in a highway oasis over Hwy. 44. I know, I said no fast food on this trip, but I decided that because it was the World’s Largest, it would somehow, in a weird way, be an okay exception to my rule. We were able to park on a side road and not have to get onto the Toll Road to enter the restaurant. Now I know how the employees do it!
So, we are now at our roadside retreat for the night. We are all exhausted and looking forward to an early tomorrow. We have about 50 more miles to go tomorrow, and we had trouble getting in all the miles we had to today! We could take two months to do this trip and still not have enough time!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Day #1
Today was less sightseeing and more ‘getting there’. We spent the first five hours in the car getting to where we left off on our last trip (somewhere near Meremec Caverns). Once on Route 66 we fell quickly back into our old routine. We hunted down landmarks and took tons of pictures. And what a BEAUTIFUL DAY to do it all in!
John’s Modern Cabins are so close to being complete ruins, that I am surprised they are still standing. I confirmed with myself while standing outside the Wagon Wheel Motel that it was better we push on to Lebanon to the renowned Munger Moss Motel. I realized that we had all better be careful in the trading posts and tourist shops because truly ‘a fool and his money are soon parted.’
We missed a few stops, some intentionally (ran out of time) and some we just couldn’t find (like Frog Rock…how does one miss a rock painted like a frog sticking out of the side of a hill?!?)
We checked into what can only be called the quaintest room on the Route. When we signed in, I couldn’t believe she gave us Room 66! (it must be fate…) In this room, Ramona (the keeper of the motel) has turned one wall into a restrospective of Michael Wallis’ works (he was the voice of the sheriff in Cars and is authority on Route 66…I wonder if he stays in this room when he stays here…).
Bell Restaurant was a wonderful roadside coffee shop near the hotel. We sat at dinner and laughed at the silly things Pete did, and I realized that this is going to be as good of a trip as I had hoped it would be. Oh, and the waitress was really really nice. I think most of the people we meet along the way will be that way (except for the troll-woman at the gas station who yelled at Pete…no, really, she looked just like a troll!)
It was a good day. I look forward to less driving and more enjoying of our route tomorrow.
John’s Modern Cabins are so close to being complete ruins, that I am surprised they are still standing. I confirmed with myself while standing outside the Wagon Wheel Motel that it was better we push on to Lebanon to the renowned Munger Moss Motel. I realized that we had all better be careful in the trading posts and tourist shops because truly ‘a fool and his money are soon parted.’
We missed a few stops, some intentionally (ran out of time) and some we just couldn’t find (like Frog Rock…how does one miss a rock painted like a frog sticking out of the side of a hill?!?)
We checked into what can only be called the quaintest room on the Route. When we signed in, I couldn’t believe she gave us Room 66! (it must be fate…) In this room, Ramona (the keeper of the motel) has turned one wall into a restrospective of Michael Wallis’ works (he was the voice of the sheriff in Cars and is authority on Route 66…I wonder if he stays in this room when he stays here…).
Bell Restaurant was a wonderful roadside coffee shop near the hotel. We sat at dinner and laughed at the silly things Pete did, and I realized that this is going to be as good of a trip as I had hoped it would be. Oh, and the waitress was really really nice. I think most of the people we meet along the way will be that way (except for the troll-woman at the gas station who yelled at Pete…no, really, she looked just like a troll!)
It was a good day. I look forward to less driving and more enjoying of our route tomorrow.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Things We Want To See!
WE ARE READY TO GO!!
These are the things we want to see each day. Colors mean:
■ Places with Food
■ Pixar Cars Points of Interest
Friday:
Chicago, IL to Lebanon, MO (456mi)
> Mule Trading Post – St. James
> Wagon Wheel Motel – Cuba
> Route 66 Motors & Gift Shop – Dillon
> Totem Pole Trading Post – Rolla
> Trail of Tears Stone Gateway – near Arlington
> John’s Modern Cabins – Doolittle
> Devil’s Elbow – Hooker
> Old Stagecoach Stop – Waynesville
> Frog Rock - Waynesville
> Bell Restaurant – Lebanon
Stay at Munger Moss Motel - Lebanon (backtrack if necessary to see previous listed items)
Saturday:
Lebanon, MO to Vinita, OK (197mi)
> Exotic Animal Paradise – Marshfield
> CD’s Pancake Hut (or Gooseberry Diner or Carthage Deli & Ice Cream) – Carthage
> R&M Restaurant/Wilders Finer Foods – Joplin
> Richardson’s Candy House – Joplin
> Eisler Brothers Old Riverton Store – Riverton *
> Rainbow Arch Bridge – Riverton
> Café on the Route – Baxter Springs
> Mickey Mantle Home, 319 S. Quincy – Commerce
> S. of Miami – OLD Alignment
> Rocket Drive-In – Afton
> Buffalo Ranch (remains)
> Backtrack to Route 66 Drive-In, Carthage, MO for movie!
Stay at Route 66 Inn and Motel - Vinita
Sunday:
Vinita, OK to Clinton, OK (271mi)
> Little Cabin Pecan Co - Vinita
> World’s Largest Totem Pole – Bushyhead
> Will Rogers Memorial - Claremore
> Blue Whale – Catoosa
> Ollie’s Station Restaurant (Trains!) – Red Fork
> Frankoma Pottery – Sapulpa
> Giant Coke Bottle - Sapulpa
> The Rock Café – Stroud *
> Old ’66 Antiques – Stroud
> PJ’s BBQ – Chandler
> Phillips 66 – Chandler
> Seaba Station – Warwick
> Bob’s BBQ & Round Barn – Arcadia
> Pop Hick’s Restaurant – Clinton *
Stay at Best Western Tradewinds Courtyard Inn - Clinton
Monday:
Clinton, OK to Tucumcari, NM (285mi)
> OK Route 66 Museum – Clinton
> National Route 66 Museum – Elk City
> Two Giant Kachina Dolls – Elk City
> Country Dove – Elk City * (French silk pie)
> AS&K Railroad Museum – Sayre
> Sands Hill Curiosity Shop – Erick
> Texacola – ghost town
> U-Drop Inn – Shamrock
> Devil’s Rope Museum – McLean *
> Phillips 66 – McLean
> McLean Alanreed Museum - McLean
> Cowboy Café – McLean
> Jericho Gap - Jericho
> Leaning Tower of Groom
> Giant Cross – Groom
> Bug Ranch - Conway
> Long Horn Trading Post – Conway
> Big Texan Steak Ranch – Amarillo *
> Cadillac Ranch - Amarillo
> Midpoint Café – Adrian * (pie!)
> Glenrio – ghost town
> Someplace Else Lounge & Route 66 Mural – San Jon
> The Rustler – San Jon
> Tee Pee Curios – Tucumcari
> Tucumcari Cheese Factory – Tucumcari
> Mesalands Dinosaur Museum - Tucumcari
Stay at Blue Swallow Motel - Tucumcari
Tuesday:
Tucumcari, NM to Gallup, NM (310mi)
> Route 66 Auto Museum – Santa Rosa
> Gift Shop – Clines Corner
> Longhorn Ranch Site – Moriarty
> Aztec Motel – Albuquerque
> Indian Pueblo Cultural Center? – Albuquerque
> 66 Diner – Albuquerque
> Rattlesnake Museum - Albuquerque
> Sky City – McCartys
> Grant’s Underground Museum – Grants
> Uranium Café - Grants
> Bandera Volcano & Ice Cave, Grants
> Continental Divide
> Oldest Indian Pueblo – Acoma?
Stay at Hotel el Rancho - Gallup
Wednesday:
Gallup, NM to Mesa Verde National Park (148mi)
> Cliff Dwellings
> Hike in the park
Stay in Mesa Verde National Park
Thursday:
Mesa Verde National Park to Holbrook, AZ (238mi)
> Petrified Forest National Park
> Painted Desert
Stay in Wigwam Motel - Holbrook
Friday:
Holbrook
, AZ to Grand Canyon (189mi)
> Joe & Aggie’s Café – Holbrook *
> Rainbow Rock Shop - Holbrook
> Jack Rabbit Trading Post – Joseph City *
> Roadworks Gifts & Souvenirs – Winslow *
> Old Trails Museum – Winslow *
> La Posada Hotel & Gardens - Winslow
> Museum Club – Flagstaff *
> Sunset Crater Volcano
Stay in Grand Canyon National Park
Saturday:
Grand Canyon National Park to Williams, AZ (113mi)
> See Grand Canyon
> Rod’s Steak House – Williams
> Twisters 50’s Soda Fountain - Williams
Stay at Red Garter Bed & Bakery - Williams
Sunday:
Williams, AZ to Oatman, AZ (159mi)
> Angel & Vilmas Route 66 Gifts – Seligman *
> Snow Cap Drive-In – Seligman *
> Copper Cart - Seligman
> Grand Canyon Caverns
> Fontier Café – Truxton
> Bidirectional Sign – Truxton
> Hackberry General Store – Hackberry
> Gunfights in Oatman
> Oatman Hotel & Café – Oatman
Backtrack a bit and Stay at Hotel Brunswick – Kingman
Monday:
Oatman, AZ to Pasadena, CA (324mi)
> Irene’s – Needles ?
> Welcome Wagon - Needles
> Amboy Crater, Amboy
> Roy’s Café? – Amboy
> Bagdad Café – Ludlow
> Forest of Bottle Trees – Helendale
> Roy Rogers Double R Bar Ranch (drive past) – Helendale
> Emma Jean’s Holland Burger – Oro Grande
> Bono’s Historic Orange Stand – Fontana
Stay at Saga Motor Hotel - Pasadena
Tuesday:
Sightseeing in L.A.
> Santa Monica Pier & FINISH ROUTE 66!!
> Hollywood Sign
> Grauman’s Chinese Theater
> Hollywood Sign
> In-N-Out Burger
Stay at Saga Motor Hotel - Pasadena
Wednesday:
Pasadena, CA to Sequoia National Park (232mi)
> Explore Sequoias
Stay in Sequoia National Park
Thursday:
Sequoia National Park to Las Vegas, NV (400mi)
> Ride the Monorail to MGM and walk the Strip
> Explore hotels
> One of the best free shows in Las Vegas is held every night in front of the Treasure Island Hotel in Sirens Cove. The free show goes on nightly at 7:00 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. in Sirens' Cove at the front entrance of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.
> Get up close with the lions of the MGM Grand. This attraction also allows you to take a picture with some lions. (for a fee) The habitat is at the entrance to the resort and offers large viewing areas of the habitat and the lions. (11am to 11pm)
> Stand out front of the Bellagio and watch as the music and the water are perfectly choreographed for your pleasure. 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., show every 1/2 hour, 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m., show every 15 minutes
Stay at Las Vegas Hilton – Las Vegas
Friday:
Las Vegas, NV to Bryce Canyon National Park (260mi)
> Explore Bryce Canyon
Stay in Bryce Canyon National Park
Saturday:
Bryce Canyon National Park to Arches National Park (275mi)
> See Canyonlands National Park
> Explore Arches National Park
Stay in Arches? Somewhere else??
Sunday:
Arches National Park to Rocky Mountain National Park (400mi)
> Meander...
Stay in Rocky Mountain National Park
Monday:
Spend the day in Rocky Mountain National Park
> Take the Georgetown Loop Railroad through the mountains
> Hike the park
Stay in Rocky Mountain National Park
Tuesday:
Rocky Mountain National Park to home (1030mi)
These are the things we want to see each day. Colors mean:■ Places with Food
■ Pixar Cars Points of Interest
Friday:
Chicago, IL to Lebanon, MO (456mi)
> Mule Trading Post – St. James> Wagon Wheel Motel – Cuba
> Route 66 Motors & Gift Shop – Dillon
> Totem Pole Trading Post – Rolla
> Trail of Tears Stone Gateway – near Arlington
> John’s Modern Cabins – Doolittle
> Devil’s Elbow – Hooker
> Old Stagecoach Stop – Waynesville
> Frog Rock - Waynesville
> Bell Restaurant – Lebanon
Stay at Munger Moss Motel - Lebanon (backtrack if necessary to see previous listed items)
Saturday:
Lebanon, MO to Vinita, OK (197mi)
> Exotic Animal Paradise – Marshfield> CD’s Pancake Hut (or Gooseberry Diner or Carthage Deli & Ice Cream) – Carthage
> R&M Restaurant/Wilders Finer Foods – Joplin
> Richardson’s Candy House – Joplin
> Eisler Brothers Old Riverton Store – Riverton *
> Rainbow Arch Bridge – Riverton
> Café on the Route – Baxter Springs
> Mickey Mantle Home, 319 S. Quincy – Commerce
> S. of Miami – OLD Alignment
> Rocket Drive-In – Afton
> Buffalo Ranch (remains)
> Backtrack to Route 66 Drive-In, Carthage, MO for movie!
Stay at Route 66 Inn and Motel - Vinita
Sunday:
Vinita, OK to Clinton, OK (271mi)
> Little Cabin Pecan Co - Vinita> World’s Largest Totem Pole – Bushyhead
> Will Rogers Memorial - Claremore
> Blue Whale – Catoosa
> Ollie’s Station Restaurant (Trains!) – Red Fork
> Frankoma Pottery – Sapulpa
> Giant Coke Bottle - Sapulpa
> The Rock Café – Stroud *
> Old ’66 Antiques – Stroud
> PJ’s BBQ – Chandler
> Phillips 66 – Chandler
> Seaba Station – Warwick
> Bob’s BBQ & Round Barn – Arcadia
> Pop Hick’s Restaurant – Clinton *
Stay at Best Western Tradewinds Courtyard Inn - Clinton
Monday:
Clinton, OK to Tucumcari, NM (285mi)
> OK Route 66 Museum – Clinton> National Route 66 Museum – Elk City
> Two Giant Kachina Dolls – Elk City
> Country Dove – Elk City * (French silk pie)
> AS&K Railroad Museum – Sayre
> Sands Hill Curiosity Shop – Erick
> Texacola – ghost town
> U-Drop Inn – Shamrock
> Devil’s Rope Museum – McLean *
> Phillips 66 – McLean
> McLean Alanreed Museum - McLean
> Cowboy Café – McLean
> Jericho Gap - Jericho
> Leaning Tower of Groom
> Giant Cross – Groom> Bug Ranch - Conway
> Long Horn Trading Post – Conway
> Big Texan Steak Ranch – Amarillo *
> Cadillac Ranch - Amarillo
> Midpoint Café – Adrian * (pie!)
> Glenrio – ghost town
> Someplace Else Lounge & Route 66 Mural – San Jon
> The Rustler – San Jon
> Tee Pee Curios – Tucumcari
> Tucumcari Cheese Factory – Tucumcari
> Mesalands Dinosaur Museum - Tucumcari
Stay at Blue Swallow Motel - Tucumcari
Tuesday:
Tucumcari, NM to Gallup, NM (310mi)
> Route 66 Auto Museum – Santa Rosa> Gift Shop – Clines Corner
> Longhorn Ranch Site – Moriarty
> Aztec Motel – Albuquerque
> Indian Pueblo Cultural Center? – Albuquerque
> 66 Diner – Albuquerque
> Rattlesnake Museum - Albuquerque
> Sky City – McCartys
> Grant’s Underground Museum – Grants
> Uranium Café - Grants
> Bandera Volcano & Ice Cave, Grants
> Continental Divide
> Oldest Indian Pueblo – Acoma?
Stay at Hotel el Rancho - Gallup
Wednesday:
Gallup, NM to Mesa Verde National Park (148mi)> Cliff Dwellings
> Hike in the park
Stay in Mesa Verde National Park
Thursday:
Mesa Verde National Park to Holbrook, AZ (238mi)> Petrified Forest National Park
> Painted Desert
Stay in Wigwam Motel - Holbrook
Friday:
Holbrook
, AZ to Grand Canyon (189mi)> Joe & Aggie’s Café – Holbrook *
> Rainbow Rock Shop - Holbrook
> Jack Rabbit Trading Post – Joseph City *
> Roadworks Gifts & Souvenirs – Winslow *
> Old Trails Museum – Winslow *
> La Posada Hotel & Gardens - Winslow
> Museum Club – Flagstaff *
> Sunset Crater Volcano
Stay in Grand Canyon National Park
Saturday:Grand Canyon National Park to Williams, AZ (113mi)
> See Grand Canyon
> Rod’s Steak House – Williams
> Twisters 50’s Soda Fountain - Williams
Stay at Red Garter Bed & Bakery - Williams
Sunday:
Williams, AZ to Oatman, AZ (159mi)
> Angel & Vilmas Route 66 Gifts – Seligman *
> Snow Cap Drive-In – Seligman *> Copper Cart - Seligman
> Grand Canyon Caverns
> Fontier Café – Truxton
> Bidirectional Sign – Truxton
> Hackberry General Store – Hackberry
> Gunfights in Oatman
> Oatman Hotel & Café – Oatman
Backtrack a bit and Stay at Hotel Brunswick – Kingman
Monday:
Oatman, AZ to Pasadena, CA (324mi)
> Irene’s – Needles ?> Welcome Wagon - Needles
> Amboy Crater, Amboy
> Roy’s Café? – Amboy
> Bagdad Café – Ludlow
> Forest of Bottle Trees – Helendale
> Roy Rogers Double R Bar Ranch (drive past) – Helendale
> Emma Jean’s Holland Burger – Oro Grande
> Bono’s Historic Orange Stand – Fontana
Stay at Saga Motor Hotel - Pasadena
Tuesday:
Sightseeing in L.A.
> Santa Monica Pier & FINISH ROUTE 66!!
> Hollywood Sign
> Grauman’s Chinese Theater
> Hollywood Sign
> In-N-Out Burger
Stay at Saga Motor Hotel - Pasadena
Wednesday: Pasadena, CA to Sequoia National Park (232mi)
> Explore Sequoias
Stay in Sequoia National Park
Thursday:
Sequoia National Park to Las Vegas, NV (400mi)
> Ride the Monorail to MGM and walk the Strip> Explore hotels
> One of the best free shows in Las Vegas is held every night in front of the Treasure Island Hotel in Sirens Cove. The free show goes on nightly at 7:00 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 10:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. in Sirens' Cove at the front entrance of Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.
> Get up close with the lions of the MGM Grand. This attraction also allows you to take a picture with some lions. (for a fee) The habitat is at the entrance to the resort and offers large viewing areas of the habitat and the lions. (11am to 11pm)
> Stand out front of the Bellagio and watch as the music and the water are perfectly choreographed for your pleasure. 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., show every 1/2 hour, 8:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m., show every 15 minutes
Stay at Las Vegas Hilton – Las Vegas
Friday:Las Vegas, NV to Bryce Canyon National Park (260mi)
> Explore Bryce Canyon
Stay in Bryce Canyon National Park
Saturday:
Bryce Canyon National Park to Arches National Park (275mi)
> See Canyonlands National Park
> Explore Arches National Park
Stay in Arches? Somewhere else??
Sunday:
Arches National Park to Rocky Mountain National Park (400mi)
> Meander...
Stay in Rocky Mountain National Park
Monday:
Spend the day in Rocky Mountain National Park
> Take the Georgetown Loop Railroad through the mountains
> Hike the park
Stay in Rocky Mountain National Park
Tuesday:
Rocky Mountain National Park to home (1030mi)
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